


“Secrets, Lies, and Blessings” (A SwanFire FanFic)

by SassyAndClassy94



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Princess Emma Swan, The Enchanted Forest, Unplanned Pregnancy, Young Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Young Emma Swan, Young Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 10:18:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16931412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyAndClassy94/pseuds/SassyAndClassy94
Summary: Ever wonder how Emma and Baelfire would have met if both had grown up in the Enchanted Forest?A SwanFire fanfic that takes place in the Enchanted Forest as if the Dark Curse was never cast.This is my first ever fanfiction so please bear with me.





	1. Chapter 1

18 year old Crown Princess Emma made sure Ava and Robert, her younger siblings, were asleep before heading out of the castle. Once she made sure they were sleeping, she breathed a sigh of relief and headed to her bedchamber to change into something more suited for her plans. She grabbed her lantern as she left her room. She took off her shoes and tiptoed through the hall and down the stairs. She looked around. She heard the guards talking. She pulled her cloak off its hook and put it on, covering her head. She grabbed a sword, sheathed it, and headed toward the door. She decided to go out the back entrance hoping she might slip out unnoticed. The guard stopped her.

“Princess Emma …” he said, crossing his weapon in front of her chest. “Where are you going?” He asked. 

Darnit! Emma thought silently. She squared her shoulders confidently. “It’s a beautiful evening, I thought I’d take a little walk,” she lied. 

The guard cocked his head. “Without an escort?” He asked, puzzled. 

“Oh, it’s FINE,” she assured him. “I’m in a disguise and I have one of my father’s swords. You know he’s taught me everything he knows. I’ll be fine. I just … need some time to myself right now. It’s been a long day and I wasn’t feeling well and I think the fresh air will help.” She said as sweetly and as innocent as she could. It wasn’t a complete lie - she had been feeling under the weather these last couple of weeks. 

The guard wasn’t so sure. “But, Your Highness…” he started. “What if the king and queen find out that you left the castle without any protection?” he asked anxiously. 

Emma thought for a moment. This could be a problem, she thought. An idea struck her. “Well, first of all, they’re NOT gonna find out because they’re not here. And if they DID find out, you’ll have nothing to worry about because I’ll say that I snuck out with some of the servants.” She said, putting a hand on the guard’s shoulder. He nodded and looked the other way. Emma bolted out the door before anyone else might stop her. She pulled the hood of her cloak back over her head, tucked her thick blonde hair inside her cloak as well as she could, and headed toward the forest. 

When she reached her destination, she stood still and listened until she heard movement. She turned around and a large smile flashed across her face. “Baelfire!!” She said excitedly. He returned her smile with his own smile. She reached out and hugged him, then took his face and kissed him. He kissed her in return and she flung her arms around his neck and tightly hugged him. Emma pulled away and placed her hands on her hips. “You have NO idea how hard it was to escape tonight!” She exclaimed. She affectionately ran her hands up and down his arms. “I think the castle guards are on to me.” 

Baelfire smiled. “I thought you said you were good at escaping unnoticed.” He said teasingly. He kissed her forehead. 

Emma rolled her eyes. “Well I am!” She retorted. “Usually. I don’t know how the guards got so smart all of a sudden.” She added with a shrug. “But I’m here now! So let's just walk. Please? It’s kinda chilly tonight. One could freeze to death if they stood still for too long.”

“Okay,” Baelfire put his arm around her shoulders and lovingly squeezed them. Emma looked up at his eyes and smiled amorously. 

Baelfire cleared his throat. “So, have you told your parents about us yet?” He asked her. 

Emma gave him a quizzical look. “Um, no! Why would I wanna do that?”

“Because we probably should. Especially if we plan on getting married.” He answered. Emma crossed her arms. “It’s been almost a year…” he added. 

Emma swallowed. “Well… it’s not so much my mother I’m scared to tell. It’s Daddy…” she paused. “He can be a little … overprotective at times. I’m kind of afraid he’ll tell us ‘no’.” They stopped walking and she turned to face Baelfire. She looked at him in his round, hazel eyes. “What about you?” She asked. “Have you told your father about us?” 

Baelfire looked to the side to avoid her thoughtful, caring gaze. “He … I don’t think he needs to know that I’m in love with the princess,” he swallowed hard and looked back at Emma. “He’d be really upset with me… something about how marrying the daughter of lightness will weaken his power.”

Emma placed her hands on his shoulder. “Understandable.” she said. “We have a bit of a problem then. I can’t tell my parents we want to get married because Daddy might want to kill us. You can’t tell your father because he may use it as an excuse to find a way to ruin the kingdom while also trying to break us apart.” She looked off into the distance and then back at Bae. “Well then,” she began again. “Until we decide what to do and when to tell them about our relationship, we’ll just have to keep meeting like this.” She kissed him and he returned it. Emma briefly broke away to smile at him. As he returned her smile she then kissed him again, this time with more passion. He returned the same and gently held her face. 

Emma pulled away for a moment. “I just have to be back home in time before the change of the guard. I uh … kinda bribed the one that saw me sneak out…” she told him. 

Baelfire gave her an amused look and smiled. “Naughty,” he said with a mischievous grin. 

She put her finger on his lips. “Mmhm…” she nodded with a seductive wink. “And you are too for going along with this.” She stroked his face. 

They walked deeper into the forest and Emma didn’t give a care what the guard thought or suspected. Or if she’ll ever be caught. All she cared about at that moment was that she was with Baelfire, her true love, and she was going to savor every second she had with him tonight. She wasn’t going to let anyone, or any negative thoughts, ruin their night with one another. 

****************************

A few hours later, at their hideout in the forest, Emma decided it was time she’d better start back to the castle. She wanted to get back home before the change of the guard. After all, they’d get suspicious of her. Baelfire looked disappointed. “You can’t even stay for say, ten more minutes?” he asked. 

“I’m sorry,” Emma answered while she buttoned up the top of her dress. “I’d love to, I want to, but I have to get home! The guard changes soon and my parents are expected home sometime today.” She sat down next to Baelfire and kissed him. “I had fun tonight,” she said with a seductive wink. He sat up and kissed her on her cheek. “Do you want me to walk you home?” he asked as he began dressing himself. 

Emma’s eyes went wide. “And risk the Royal Guard seeing you and me together??? Bae, they’d tell my father in a heartbeat! Half a heartbeat!!” She quickly shook her head. “No! I mean, thank you, but no. I’ll walk back home myself.” She said confidently. 

Baelfire wasn’t going to give up. “Just to the courtyard at least?” He kissed her on the mouth, hoping that would convince her. 

“Um …” she thought for a second and kissed him back. “There are guards outside the courtyard too. Uh, how about just to the edge of the forest? The castle is close enough to the forest so you don’t have to feel guilty for letting me walk alone the rest of the way but far enough away so the guards won’t see us.” She smiled. 

He smiled back. “Ah, clever! That’s fine with me!” He answered enthusiastically. He stood up and grabbed both their cloaks and helped Emma into hers and walked back hand in hand. 

They eventually reached the point where they had to part ways. But before they did, they gave each other one last drawn-out embrace and kiss. They then said ‘I love you’ to one another and pulled apart, walking off in opposite directions. 

Emma arrived just in time. Much to her relief, the original guard had not yet changed posts. She pulled her cloak closer to her body as she walked closer to the steps. The guard cleared his throat. “That was a long walk.” he said. Emma gave him a side eyed glance. What did he know? She wondered. “Did you have fun?” He asked her. Emma thought she was going to vomit. “Uh …” she stammered. “I … uh … ran into an old friend and we … caught up on a few things,” she lied. 

The guard nodded. “I see,” he said. “Well, all that matters is that you’re safe.” He added. 

Emma shot him a deadly look. “This friend would NEVER hurt me,” she said. “Now… if you’ll be so kind as to let me back into the castle please?” She asked defiantly. 

“Indeed, Your Highness,” he obeyed.  
Emma rolled her eyes. “And WHAT have I said about the Your Highness stuff?” She whispered loudly. 

“I have to call you that, Miss,” he said apologetically. He opened the castle door and Emma uttered a groan. She took off her cloak and was about to take off her scarf when she noticed a small figure standing in the entryway. It was Ava. Emma’s eyes widened in terror. What was she even doing up at this hour?

“What are you doing, Emma? And why are you dressed like that?” Ava asked innocently. 

Emma just stared, not knowing what to say and hoping Ava would just go back to doing whatever it was she was doing. She didn’t. 

“Who was that boy you were with?” Ava asked. 

Emma’s heart leaped into her throat. She choked. “Uh, what boy?” she asked. She started to feel nauseous again.

Ava put her hands on her hips. “Don’t be funny, Emma! I SAW you with a boy outside near the woods!” She said. 

But it's dark out! How could she see? Emma thought silently. She tried to cover for herself. She patted Ava’s head. “Ava, honey, you’re imagining things,” she said with a nervous giggle. 

Ava wasn’t buying it. “Were you outside ALL night??” she asked in horror.

This cannot be happening!! Emma thought to herself. “Uh…” she didn’t know what to do. No amount of lying and covering would get her out of this mess. She ran up to her little sister.

“Emma…?” Ava looked a little nervous. “Is everything all right?” she asked. 

Emma’s face went white. She looked Ava right square in her big blue eyes. She firmly took her by the shoulders. “Ava, you CANNOT breathe a WORD of this to Mama and Daddy, do you HEAR me??” She said desperately. Ava just stared and nodded her head. She looked at Emma’s arm. “What’s that?” she asked curiously. Emma looked down at her arm and noticed the mud from Baelfire’s hideout. Emma’s mouth went dry. If it's on my arm, it's in my hair and on my FACE! She panicked. “Mud.” she answered quickly. “I, uh, fell on the way back here.” she lied. Thank goodness Ava was young and innocent. If she wasn’t, she’d wonder, and Emma’s and Baelfire’s secret would be out. She again held Ava by the shoulders. “Ava… do you understand that you CANNOT tell ANYONE about ANY of this??” She said, desperation flooded her voice. Ava submissively nodded yes. “I MEAN it, Ava!!!” Emma shouted. 

“I won’t!” Ava started to get agitated. She didn’t know why her sister was being so mean all of a sudden. 

Emma removed her grip and stood up straight and smoothed her skirt. She looked down at her sister. “Good.” she said. “Now I am going to go take a bath and get cleaned up before Mother and Daddy get home, okay?” Ava nodded yes. “That means leave me alone, okay, Ava?” She said as she rolled her eyes. She headed to her bedchamber to go clean up. That was CLOSE, she thought to herself as she closed her door.


	2. Chapter 2

Snow White and David arrived home from their journey at about noonday. Ava and Robert ran to their parents. Ava right away ran into her father’s arms, He lifted her up and kissed her temple. 

“How’s my little Ava?” He said happily. 

“I missed you!” She answered, hugging him around his neck. 

“Where’s your sister?” Snow asked their 8-year-old son. 

“Still sleeping, I think.” he answered his mother. 

“Sleeping?” repeated Snow. “That’s funny. She’s usually up way before now.” She stated. 

“Emma was outside all night!” Ava piped in. Charming was wide eyed. “She was what?” he asked his daughter. 

“She was outside all night.” Ava forgot all about Emma’s pleading and was all too happy to tell on her sister.

“Doing what??” Charming wanted to know. 

Ava shrugged. “I dunno. She was with some boy. She thought I didn’t see but I did!”

Snow looked over at her husband. He had a look on his face that spelled out anger. He swallowed before asking, “What were they doing?” 

“They hugged - and maybe kissed? I don’t really know because it was still kinda dark out. I got up to empty my chamber pot and I saw them.”

“Are you sure she was with a boy?” he asked again as he let Ava back down. 

“Well I think so,” she answered. “It was dark out.”

“Who was it??” He asked her firmly. 

“I don’t know, Daddy! Like I said, it was dark out. I couldn’t make out who he was. I just knew he was a boy. And Emma was dressed in commoner’s clothes!” 

“Ava, how long has she been doing this?” He fumed. 

“Uhh… I don’t know. That was the first time I saw them! She must’ve gone out a few times because she was really tired while you and Mama were gone.” A thought struck her. “You’re not gonna tell Emma that I told on her, are you, Daddy?” She asked as she looked at her father. “You can’t tell her I told you!!!” she pleaded. “She’ll pull my hair!” 

Snow went over and hugged her little daughter. “No one’s pulling anyone’s hair, Sweetheart,” she assured her. “And NO one is doing anything hasty either, right, Charming? … Charming? DAVID?” 

Charming gave her a look. “I have to find out who this boy is and …” He stopped speaking as he noticed Snow’s eyes go wide. 

A little while later, after Emma was up and dressed, she was called to her parents’ bedchamber. Great, she thought. I wonder what I did this time. She mentally ran through all the things she may have done wrong. She immediately thought of Ava seeing her with Baelfire that morning. Oh no …. She thought, She wouldn’t - would she? 

She stepped into her parents’ room and immediately noticed their serious expressions and knew right away that she was in trouble. 

Charming was the first to speak. “Emma,” he began. “It’s come to my attention that you have been secretly seeing someone at night?” 

Emma quickly tried to change the topic. “I missed you too, Daddy. It’s so great to have you back.”

Charming grew impatient. “Emma … stop trying to avoid this. WHO is this boy you’ve been caught with?!” He boomed. 

Emma glared at her father. This is NONE of his business, she thought angrily. “He’s um…”

Charming rolled his eyes. “Oh come ON, Emma, come out with it already!” 

Emma closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip. This can’t be happening, she thought silently. She started to feel nauseous. She looked back at Charming. She swallowed. “Um… Baelfire…” 

Snow uttered a gasp and Charming clenched his jaw at Emma’s answer. He drew a slow, deep breath. Emma could tell he was livid and horrified. “B-Baelfire? As in … the son of the DARK ONE???” 

Emma tried to avoid her parents’ eyes. She fought back the urge to cry. 

“Emma ...how…? Why…?” Snow began. “He’s -”

“HE’S NOT WHAT YOU ASSUME!! He’s kind and considerate!! He’s nothing at all like his father!” Emma burst out as she gave her parents a deadly glare. “And he makes me feel like a regular girl instead of a stupid princess and I can actually be MYSELF when I’m with him!!”

“But, Emma … he’s the Dark One’s SON!! Do you know how dangerous this situation could be?” Snow asked her seriously. 

Emma shot a poisonous look at her mother. “I told you! He is NOT his father. How dare you judge him without even knowing him.” she said sternly, with anger in her voice tears filling her eyes. With that, she turned around and stormed out of her parents’ bedchamber. She headed toward the stables to find her sister. “I am going to KILL Ava!” She whispered through gritted teeth as she vigorously wiped the tears from her eyes.


	3. Chapter III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is kinda short but hey! I'm learning! And before you ask, yes I have sisters and have gotten mad at them but I have NEVER pulled their hair.

Emma found Ava in the stables, awaiting her riding lesson. Ava saw the angry look on Emma’s face. She wondered if she had found out who it was that had told on her. “Hello, Emma,” She chirped. “My, aren’t you looking beautiful today!!” Emma returned her compliment with a shooting glare.   
“WHY?!” she stormed, causing a horse to snort frantically.  
Ava looked around, trying to seem innocent. “Why what?”   
Emma aggressively grabbed her hair. “WHY did you tell them about me and Bae???” She tugged harder at her hair, causing Ava to utter a wail.   
“That was Baelfire you were with?” she asked innocently as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Well … Daddy asked and he -”   
Emma yanked her hair even harder, causing her red ribbon to come loose. “I don’t care if Daddy threatens to SPANK you!!” She yelled. “You had NO right to tell on me like that! Bae is MY business and what I decide to do with him is also MY business. And now, being that you told, we could be in so a lot of trouble! I won't be able to see for a very long time and it’ll be YOUR FAULT.” Emma’s stomach started to churn, causing her to feel sick.  
“Why?? Is something going to happen to the Dark One’s son?” She asked frantically.   
“Stop calling him that!!” Emma shouted in her face. “His. Name. Is. BAELFIRE!!” Emma yanked her hair even harder, causing Ava to cry. “GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK HEAD, YOU LITTLE -”  
“EMMA!” Came a voice from the stable aisle. Emma looked up to see Regina giving Ava a concerned look. “Emma, I’m sorry if you’re having a bad day and I know this isn’t my place to say, but you should not treat your little sister like that!” Emma released her grip on Ava’s hair and Ava ran to Regina, sobbing. “There there, Ava, its okay.” She looked back up at Emma. “Ya know, I’m surprised at you. You’re not usually this aggressive. Especially not toward your ELEVEN YEAR OLD sister.”   
Emma shot Regina a look of anger. Then looked down. Regina noticed as Emma suddenly turned pale. “Are you okay, Dear? You don’t look well all of a sudden.” She asked with concern.   
Emma stared back at her blankly. “I’m fine,” she answered flatly.   
Regina wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure? Your color has completely drained.” She pointed out.  
“I am FINE.” Emma reassured her, rather rudely.   
“She’s been feeling tired these last few weeks,” Ava piped in with a sniff, still clinging to Regina in fear her sister would attempt to assault her again. “That’s why she slept in so late today.”   
Emma cleared her throat. “I wasn’t feeling well this morning. I, uh … I think I ate something bad last night.” She answered.   
“We all ate the same thing though, Emma,” Ava interjected.   
“Shut UP, Ava!” Emma shouted. Ava started to cry again.   
“Emma!!” Regina said as she stroked Ava’s hair. “I think you need to go get some fresh air. Cool off for a while!”   
“I don’t need to cool off -” Emma started to argue but instead her stomach lurched and she ran out of the stable, barely making it out in time before her stomach emptied itself of its contents.   
“Ew,” Ava said. She looked up at Regina. “Ew, I hope I don’t catch what she’s got!” She wrinkled her nose and made a face.


	4. Chapter IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all have no idea how much and how long I struggled on this chapter over the summer... But thanks to help from one of my best friends and inspiration from the Goose Girl and Enna Burning I was able to execute the particular scene in this chapter! BOOM!

~Two years ago~

It was a cold day in the Enchanted Forest and the castle was preparing for young Princess Ava’s birthday celebration, for she was turning 9. The whole kingdom was celebrating. She was beyond excited, but Emma couldn’t understand why her sister enjoyed the attention so much. She hated it. Even though the day was supposed to be about Ava, somehow the people would still find ways to rave over Emma as well. What she was wearing, how beautiful she looked, how great of an older sister she was, she was even told that she’ll be an incredible ruler when the time comes. She grew tired of it. She wished she could just lock herself in her bedchamber and not be a part of her sister’s celebration. But she knew her parents would make her go because they wanted it to be a family affair. She sighed. Sometimes, I wish I were just a regular commoner, she said to herself. She heard childish footsteps running toward her room.   
“Emma! EMMA!!” her little sister cried as she ran into her room. “Which dress should I wear tonight?” she panted. Emma looked at the dresses she was holding up, one a pale blue, the other lavender. She studied them for a moment. “Lavender.” she decided. “I’m wearing blue tonight and don’t you want to stand out all by yourself?”   
Ava’s face lit up. “Oh YES! You’re right!!” she answered excitedly. “I can’t match you! Everyone’s eyes have to be on ME!”  
Emma rolled her eyes. She’d never understand why Ava loved the attention so much. Ava’s eyes widened as a thought struck her. “Oo! Emma, do you think Mama would let me wear one of her necklaces?” she asked.   
“Probably? I don’t know, You’ll have to go ask her yourself.” she answered. Ava nodded and quickly ran out to find their mother. Emma sighed and shook her head. “I just don’t get it.” she said. Suddenly, there was another knock on her door. It was Eleanor, Emma’s lady-in-waiting, who was also her closest friend. “Do you need any help getting ready, Your Highness?” she asked sweetly.   
Emma gave her a side eyed glance. She hated to be called “Your Highness”.   
“I know you don’t like to be called that, but it's part of my job.”   
“I understand,” Emma responded. “But I still don’t like it.” she looked at Eleanor. “I wish I could stay here in my room tonight,” she said as she pulled her dress from its manikin.   
Eleanor put her hand on Emma’s shoulder. “Oh, c’mon. It’ll be fun. And tonight’s all about Princess Ava so the spotlight will be off you!” She said optimistically.   
“Pfft! Yeah…” Emma replied annoyedly.   
Eleanor uttered a small giggle. “You really don’t like having the least bit of attention, do you?” She asked.   
Emma shook her head. “It makes me uncomfortable. I never have liked it. Ever.”   
“Well … you have to show up with your parents and siblings though.”  
Emma rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know.” She looked back at her lady-in-waiting and saw that she was deep in thought. “Hey!” She exclaimed quietly. “After your parents make their announcements and things, just tell them you’ve had enough excitement for one night and that you want to go home.”  
Emma thought about it. “I could do that,” she nodded. “But what I really want to do is just get away for a little bit. Just me. No guards. No escorts. No maids. Just me.” she added.   
“Good luck with that,” Eleanor said. “Your royal clothes would give you away in a heartbeat.”  
An idea came upon Emma and Eleanor spotted the infamous gleam she got in her eye when she was up to something. “What if I wasn’t wearing my royal clothes?” Emma asked deviously.   
Eleanor gasped. “EMMA!! You can’t walk about NAKED!”  
Emma slapped her lady-in-waiting’s arm. “ELLIE!!!” she shouted. She rolled her eyes in irritation. That was not at ALL what she had meant. Goodness!   
“Its Eleanor.” she corrected.   
“Yeah I don’t care,” she answered shortly. “What I mean is, what if I wore commoners’ clothes?” she asked.   
“Oh right. Of course that’s what you meant. I’m so sorry! Silly me.” Eleanor said. “I don’t know. I think then your hair would give you away.”  
“Don’t be ridiculous! Lots of girls have blonde hair. And I’d tie it back! I’d wear my cloak! No one would ever know it was me and I could have freedom for at least an hour or so.! Who would even see me?”   
Eleanor looked hesitant. “I … I don’t know, Emma. What if your parents - mainly His Majesty - find out you left without an escort? What if you were hurt?” She asked frantically.   
“I’d be fine. And you and I both know I’m rather handy with a sword thanks to Daddy,” she answered confidently. She looked at Eleanor mischievously. “Whatdya say, Ellie? Could I borrow some of your clothes tonight? I’d guess we’re roughly the same size.”   
Eleanor looked nervous. If the king and queen found out about this, she could lose her job and her best friend.   
“Please, Eleanor?” she begged. “I won’t call you ‘Ellie’ for at least a month…” she bribed in a sing-song voice. “And if my parents find out, I’ll make sure you stay out of it, I promise!”   
Eleanor looked at Emma. the poor girl just wanted to experience what it was like to be a regular girl. She may be the princess, but she was also her best friend. She wanted to help her. How could she refuse her? She sighed. “I’ll bring you some clothes tonight that will make a good disguise,”   
Emma bounced and clapped her hands twice. “Thank you!!! I LOVE you, Ellie!!!” she said as she hugged her lady-in-waiting.  
“Its Eleanor and you already broke your promise.” she said annoyedly.   
Emma just giggled. “I did, didn’t I?”  
Little did the girls know that this scheme would end up changing Emma’s life forever. 

**********

After what seemed like an eternity, Emma asked her parents if she could be excused from the kingdom’s festivities. They knew she hated crowds and attention and were proud and grateful that she had maintained a gracious attitude so they readily excused her.   
The guards escorted her back to the castle. As they headed back, she wondered what it must be like to walk about freely, without any palace guards by her side. She’d find out soon enough.   
They reached the castle and Emma headed straight to her bedchamber, where she waited for Eleanor. She heard a knock on her door. Eleanor poked her head through the entrance. “I’ve got the clothes,” she whispered.   
Emma smiled. “THANK YOU!! Come on in!” She anxiously took the clothes from Eleanor and immediately began to change. “I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am to you for this.” she added with a big smile. She noticed Eleanor looked almost scared. Emma put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be FINE, Eleanor, I PROMISE!” she assured her. “I’m only going to take a walk. I’ll tie up my hair and even wear the hood on my cloak just for extra caution.”  
“But what if someone sees you and recognizes you? You could get hurt! And what if the king finds out? I could lose my job!” She added desperately. “And … you’re my only friend...”  
Emma hugged her. “Well, so far no one is in trouble, okay? And if I get caught, as I said earlier, I promise you won’t even be a part of it. I’ll say I stuffed a pillow in my bedsheets and I snuck into the servants’ quarters to borrow some clothes. I’ll say it was all me! And Daddy will believe me too because I’ve always been somewhat of a sneaky mischievous child.” She placed her hand on her shoulder again. “NO ONE is getting in trouble or losing their job tonight, okay, Ellie?”   
Eleanor gave her an unamused look. “You did it again,” she giggled softly.  
Emma smirked. “Yeah, I did.” She nodded.   
“You promised…”  
“But I got you to smile, didn’t I?” She said as she teasingly nudged her handmaiden. “Now, hurry back to the servants’ quarters before I sneak out. The least you know, the better.”   
“Okay.” Eleanor nervously answered as she stepped out of Emma’s room. She turned around. “Emma…? Please be careful…” She said. Emma reassured her with a confident smile and showed Eleanor her sword.   
“I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “Now get out of here!”   
Emma carefully went out her window. She was never so grateful that it wasn’t far from the ground. She jumped down and looked around. She took a deep breath of the cold, fresh air. “So THIS is what freedom feels like,” she whispered. She pulled her cloak closer to her body and set off, cherishing every minute of her newfound liberty. She was so happy that she almost laughed. She wanted to run a little, but she felt that might draw too much attention to herself. instead , she walked slowly toward the village. She just wanted to experience things from afar, as if she were a commoner. She didn’t want to actually go into the village in fear she’d be caught. She was watching the festivities from around the corner of a building when suddenly, she stepped back and bumped into someone. She gasped in surprise and drew her sword, aiming it at the person’s throat. “WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING, YOU CLUMSY OAF!” she cried.   
“I am SO sorry!” the person said to her. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.” he looked down at Emma’s sword and held his hands up.   
“Clearly.” she answered shortly. She pressed the point of the sword against his throat.   
“I don't mean any harm!” he replied.  
“Mhm. sure you didn’t. How do I know you’re not just trying to rob me?” she asked, her green eyes narrowing.  
“You don’t,” he answered nervously. “But I promise you that I bumped into you on complete accident. I was looking down and I didn’t see you standing there. Now … do you think you could possibly… lower your sword?”  
Emma looked at him. He sounded sincere. She could tell he was telling the truth. She slowly lowered her sword and placed it back in its sheath and heard him breathe out a little sigh of relief. She guessed that she had scared him as much as he’d scared her. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to startle you either. It's dark, and I wasn’t expecting anyone to bump into me like that.” she placed her hands on her hips. “Who looks down when they’re walking anyway?” she asked.  
“I do…” she stranger shrugged. “Its a bad habit of mine.”  
Emma rolled her eyes. “Well if you know what’s good for you, you’ll break that habit. Bumping into people is rude and does nothing but make them mad. ”  
“I know that,” he answered flatly.   
“Well if you know that then why did you do it?” she asked in a joking tone. He’s too easy, she thought to herself.  
“Like I said, its a bad habit.” he answered defensively. Obviously he failed to catch that Emma’s last reply was a joke.  
“Relax!” she said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m only kidding! It's really not that big of a deal.”   
He smiled slightly. After he realized that her last remark had been a joke he felt rather silly for being so defensive.   
Emma wondered who this man was. Apart from him getting defensive, he seemed kinda nice. Maybe a little withdrawn, but nice. She also wondered how old he was. To her, he looked no older than 16 or 17, about her own age. She considered asking him, but she thought against it and instead glanced back at the festivities and caught sight of her sister. There was no way she saw her though. That’s when she noticed the stranger was looking at her curiously. She cleared her throat. “Princess Ava looks like she’s enjoying herself.” she said as she nodded her head in the direction of Ava.  
The young man looked to see the young princess. He smiled and laughed a little when he saw her soaking up all the attention. “She seems like a character,” he pointed out.   
“She is -” Emma stopped herself. Darn! She thought to herself. I answered too quickly.  
“You’ve met her?” he asked her excitedly. He was finally starting to be more sociable toward her.  
Emma could have kicked herself. “Well … “I've heard anyway.” She noticed that the young man was smiling at her. Emma nervously looked away. She suddenly noticed how attractive this man was. Suddenly, she felt bad for lying to him about who she really was, but for all she knew, he might tell someone that she was out alone. She again cleared her throat and looked back at the royal family. “She’s cute, isn’t she?” She asked him.   
“Actually … she seems a bit… conceited…” he said slowly as Emma uttered a choked laugh. “I’m more fond of Princess Emma. She seems to be more down-to-earth.”  
“What???” Emma asked, her green eyes wide with disbelief. “P-Princess Emma? As in the one that everyone says is moody and too uptight to be a princess?”   
Her acquaintance stared back at her, puzzled. “Who says THAT?” he wanted to know.   
Emma looked down at her feet. “Um, everyone…” she answered. At least some of the staff, more so their laundress, Genevieve, had said those words about her. She had heard them one day. It wasn’t just the staff. She had heard some of the people say things like that too and the words had never left her mind and because of that, she always felt like people were judging her.  
She noticed him tense up a little at her answer. “Well they shouldn't say things like that about the princess and neither should you.” he said firmly. “It’s disrespectful. I’ve heard that she’s kind like the queen and displays the same sense of leadership as the king.”  
Emma’s heart melted at the way he had just defended her. Who is this? She thought. She now felt even worse for lying to him about who she was.   
He extended his hand to hers as he introduced himself. “I’m Baelfire.”  
“Baelfire? As in…?  
“Yes.” He answered annoyedly. Emma could have sworn she had also heard some sadness in his voice. “The son of the Dark One.” He just couldn’t escape that.   
Emma immediately felt bad for judging him so quickly. He was obviously nothing like his father. She had gathered that much just by casually talking to him in these past minutes. He must’ve known the reaction he’d get yet he still readily told me his name. He’s honest, she thought. She took a deep breath. “I’m … I’m Emma.” she said slowly and slipped off her hood.   
Baelfire took a step back, shocked. “Oh, I’m …” he remembered what he had just told the princess. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who you were … I thought you were a peasant, such as myself.” he said, looking mortified.   
Emma smiled. She found herself becoming rather attracted to this kind man. “Actually, those were the kindest words I’ve ever heard come FROM a peasant.” she meant what she had just said.   
Baelfire still looked incredibly embarrassed. “If I had known you were … I’m so sorry.”  
“Don’t be!!” She said. “You actually made me feel like a normal person and I enjoyed every minute of it!” she paused before going on. “That’s actually why I’m out here. I just needed to get away for a bit. See, I don’t like being the center of attention. I feel suffocated. I needed room to breathe, so that’s why I sneaked out of the castle dressed like this.” She stopped. For some reason, she found Baelfire extremely easy to talk to. Which she felt was odd because she had only just met him 30 minutes ago. Then she noticed that he actually looked genuinely interested in what she was saying. He was looking at her thoughtfully.  
“I understand that,” he replied.   
“You DO?” Emma asked in disbelief. She was sure he’d think her a spoiled brat for talking the way she just did. But he didn’t. Instead, he empathized with her.   
“Yes,” he answered. “I do. It makes perfect sense. Life can be … stressful. We all need to get away at some point.” He smiled warmly at her, causing Emma’s heart to flutter. She felt herself blush and she was so thankful it was dark outside so he couldn’t see it.   
Baelfire cleared his throat nervously. “Do you … do you want to walk with me for a little bit?” he stammered. He was equally as nervous as Emma was.   
Emma thought before answering. “Y-yes,” she answered hesitantly. “But I have to be back at the castle before my family gets there.” she added.  
“Of course,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to be in any sort of trouble. Just let me know when you’ve had enough and I’ll walk you back.”   
Emma smiled at Baelfire and drew her hood back over her head. What a gentleman this man is, she happily thought to herself. They walked together a little ways into the forest before Emma decided it was time for her to head back to the castle. She went in through the servants’ quarters hoping to find Eleanor. She couldn’t wait to tell her lady-in-waiting about the evening she had just had - but more importantly, who she had just met. 

*********

“And you’re sure no one recognized you?” Eleanor asked Emma as she helped her undress and get ready for bed.   
“Positive,” she answered. “However… I may have met someone…” she added cautiously.  
“What?!” Eleanor exclaimed. “I thought you said no one saw you!”   
“Oh he didn’t recognize me! He thought I was a commoner,” she giggled. “Which means my plan worked.” She walked over to her desk to retrieve her hairbrush, then sat on her bed as she brushed her hair.  
“Who was he?” Eleanor asked as she sat down next to Emma.  
Emma opened her mouth to speak but quickly thought better of it. She faced her lady-in-waiting. “Ya know, I don’t really want to tell you his name quite yet…” she said frankly.  
Eleanor thought that was strange. “Why?” she asked, unimpressed and disappointed that Emma was keeping her new acquaintance a secret from her. Usually Emma told her everything there was to know about anything.  
“Because what if we never see each other again?” she began. “And if you don’t know his name then you can’t tease me about him and remind me of him if this doesn’t work out.”  
“Oh I see,” she complied. “Then … may I ask what he looked like?”  
“It … was dark out. I … didn’t really get a good look at him,” she answered nervously.  
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “You must’ve gotten some sort of an idea what he looks like.”   
Emma smiled as she recalled what he looked like, or, at least what she could gather in the dark under lantern light. “He had a really nice smile and was very polite - AFTER he bumped into me that is…” she smiled as she continued. “He had round eyes that were kinda tear-dropped shape. I’m not exactly sure as to what color they are … maybe brownish? I couldn’t really tell. And his hair! Oh my goodness, that was the first thing I noticed. He has so much of it!! A little disheveled, but oh was it gorgeous! And I’m pretty sure his hair is brown by the way.” She felt herself smiling like a fool.   
Eleanor smiled. “Oh, Emma! He sounds so handsome!”   
Emma smiled dreamily. “He is! He’s the most beautiful boy I’ve EVER seen.”  
Eleanor giggled. “He must be REALLY attractive to make you act all smitten. You’ve never been very, what’s the word?” She thought before continuing. “Boy crazy…”  
Emma just giggled. This boy is different. She thought to herself with a smile. She had a feeling about Baelfire but right now, she wasn’t sure what this feeling was, or what it meant. All she knew at the time was that she really wanted to see him again and get to know him. But her question was: how? She’d find a way though. If there was one thing her family knew how to do, it was finding someone. And she would find Baelfire. Even if it took her all winter. 

*******

Three weeks later Emma accompanied her father to the village. She had always loved accompanying him on his day trips and enjoyed spending time with him, but today, she had an ulterior motive for going with him.  
“You gonna come with me, or would you rather stay in the carriage?” Charming asked his daughter as he hopped out.   
“I think I’ll wait in here if you don’t mind,” she politely replied. She hoped he wouldn’t wonder why she chose to wait and stay in the carriage instead of going with him.   
“Fine with me.” Charming replied. “I’ll be right over there if you need me.”   
Emma nodded as he shut the carriage door then watched as her father walked toward where he told her he’d be. She sighed and slouched against the cushions. She looked out the window and curiously watched as the different people went about their business in the village. In truth, she was actually looking for a familiar face. She was hoping she’d see Baelfire while she was here. For the past three weeks she had been using these village trips with her father as an excuse to look for him, but each time she went, he was nowhere to be seen and it disappointed her greatly. She was beginning to think that this trip would be no different until she suddenly noticed a boy with familiar gorgeous brown tousled hair. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to get a better look. She saw him smile at someone and that’s when she was sure it really was Baelfire. “That’s him!” she said quietly as a smile spread across her face. She quickly looked to make sure Charming wasn’t coming back before she opened the carriage door. She first poked her head out and noticed the guard was watching her. “I’m just going to look at that cart of fruit over there, okay?” she said to the guard. He nodded in reply and Emma jumped out of the carriage. Not very princess-like by any means, but she didn’t care at the moment being that she was on a time limit here. She quickly walked over to Baelfire, who happened to be at the same cart that Emma told the guard she’d be looking at.  
“Hey,” she said as she nonchalantly nudged his shoulder.   
“Emma!” a smile flashed across Baelfire’s face after he realized who it was that had nudged him. “What are you doing here?” he asked.  
“I’m here with my father,” she answered. “He’s getting supplies.”  
Baelfire looked puzzled. “Supplies?”  
Emma giggled. “Yeah. Royals gotta eat too, ya know.”   
“Yeah I know but I just thought that… well… you had servants to do that,” he replied.  
“We do. But Daddy isn’t your typical royal. See, he used to be a peasant - a shepherd to be exact - before he met and married my mother.”   
“Really?”   
“Yeah!” she answered happily. “LONG story. But that’s why he likes to do as much as he can by himself and on his own.” she looked behind her to see if her father was back at their carriage yet. He wasn’t so she continued to talk to Baelfire. “Ya know, the reason I came with him today was actually so I could maybe hopefully run into you again …” she added sort of shyly.   
Baelfire looked at her in surprise. “You … DID?” This was the first time in a long time that someone had actually WANTED to see him. And the princess of all people. Imagine that.   
Emma nodded and smiled excitedly. “Mhm! I wanted to see you again! I had a lot of fun talking to you at Ava’s birthday celebration a few weeks ago.”   
“I did too,” he replied as he pretended to study the fruit in the cart.  
Emma suddenly heard a sound and looked behind her. She saw her father talking to the farrier. He’d be heading back to the carriage as soon as he finished talking to that man. “I gotta go,” she said quickly. “It was nice talking to you, Baelfire!”   
“Same to you,” he answered. “Oh, wait!”   
Emma halted and turned back around. “Yes?”  
“Do you… do you wanna meet sometime?” he asked her. It would be nice to finally have a friend to talk to.  
“Sure!!” she answered all too quickly. “How about tonight? After supper?”   
“Tonight? As in tonight, tonight?”  
Emma giggled. “That’s what tonight means, doesn’t it?” He’s so funny! She thought to herself with a smile.   
“Well alright then.” he answered. “Tonight it is.”   
“Where do you want to meet?” She asked with an even bigger smile developing on her face. She was so excited to have a friend outside her castle.  
Baelfire smiled. The princess had such a cute personality. “I don’t know. Wherever you want to meet.” he added with a smile.  
Emma thought for a moment. “You know where my castle is, right?”   
“Yes. I think so.”  
She smiled even bigger. “Good. We can meet right at the edge of the forest. You can still see the castle from there so I won’t be too far home. How does that sound?” she asked excitedly.   
“It sounds good. I’ll meet you at the edge of the forest tonight at … is 9 too late?” he asked.   
“Nope! 9 is fine! I’ll see you then!” she turned around to head back to the carriage until a thought struck her. “OH!” she turned back around to face her new friend. “Is it okay if I bring some dessert?” she asked, another smile on her face.  
Another smile spread across Baelfire’s face. “Of course!” he laughed. She’s just so cute! How could anyone ever call her stuck up? He thought silently.   
“Alright then!” she answered excitedly. “I’ll see you tonight!” she said as she turned around and ran for the carriage. She got there just in time too. As soon as she got in and closed the door, Charming started to walk toward the carriage.   
“Hope I didn’t take too long,” he said as he handed the box of supplies to Emma as he climbed in.   
“You didn’t.” she answered.   
“You didn’t get bored?” he asked with a smile.  
“No. I went to look at the fruit in that cart over there. It looked really good but then I realized that I didn’t have any money.” she said. It wasn’t a lie at all because she really did want to buy some of the fruit. It looked tasty and she was always hungry for things like that.   
“Do you still want some?” He asked thoughtfully.  
“Oh, no, I’m good. But thank you anyway.” She answered.   
“Okay. Then let’s go home.”   
As the carriage lurched forward, Emma stole a glance out the window and caught sight of Baelfire. He was watching them drive off. They looked right at each other. He waved slightly and she smiled in return. She sat back in her seat uttered a deep breath. She couldn’t wait until after supper tonight. 

*******

That night Baelfire waited for Emma at the edge of the forest. A few minutes had gone by and he wondered if she had changed her mind about meeting because there was no sign of her. He sighed. He hoped she hadn’t changed her mind. After a few more minutes had passed, he was about to give up and go back home. As soon as he turned to head back, he heard movement behind him. He turned back around to see Emma, slightly out of breath. She also looked a little annoyed.   
“Sorry,” she began. “I tried to make it here earlier, but,” she trailed off and rolled her eyes. “Oh well! I’m here now and that’s all that matters, right?” she smiled at her new friend. “Oh! And I brought this!” they sat down on the ground side by side and then she carefully opened a bundled cloth revealing what looked to be two slices of cake of some sort. She held it out to Baelfire, offering him some, which he gladly and readily accepted. Typical boy. “Have you ever had some before?” she asked him.  
“Well, yes, actually … I have” he answered.   
Emma looked a little disappointed by his answer until a thought struck her. “Oh? But have you ever had cake from the Charming castle before?” she asked as she proudly squared her shoulders.  
Baelfire laughed at her question. “Yes,” he answered and Emma looked at him confusedly.  
“What? When?”   
“Just now,” he answered with a sarcastic grin.   
Emma rolled her eyes. “Very funny.” she tried to look unamused and Baelfire laughed again. “Laugh it up,” she added as she crossed her arms.   
As they finished their dessert together, Emma again wondered how old her new friend was. She decided she was just going to ask. Who cares, right? “So …” she began. “I’ve been wondering this ever since we met a few weeks ago and I just have to know. How old are you?”   
“16,” he answered. He looked at Emma before going on. “I’ll be 17 in March.”  
“16? Really?” she had guessed right all along! “I’m 16 as well. Only I basically just turned 16. May I ask what day in March?”  
“Sure. The 23rd.” he answered with a shy smile.  
“No!” Emma exclaimed. “Mine is October 23rd!” she quickly did the math in her head. “That makes us exactly 7 months apart!!”   
“Wow,” Baelfire smiled at her. “I knew your birthday was in October but I never realized that we shared the same day.”   
“So bizarre, isn’t it?” she said in amazement.  
Baelfire looked at her and smiled. He had to admit that it was rather neat that their birthdays were so similar.   
They continued to talk and laugh for the next hour and a half until Emma wondered what the time was. Both of them had completely lost track of time.   
“Oh my,” Emma exclaimed. “I wonder what time it is. It must be so late.”   
Baelfire looked up at the moon to try and estimate what time it was. “Uh … about maybe 10:30? I think.”  
“Oh my goodness! I have to get back home!” She stood up and smoothed out her skirts. “Thank you so much for this wonderful evening, Baelfire,” she smiled warmly at him. “It was so refreshing to talk to a normal person and to be treated like one too for once.”   
Baelfire smiled in reply. “It was my pleasure,” he answered. “And thank you for bringing dessert and, well, for uh, even showing up…” he looked down shyly as he ended his sentence.   
Emma looked at him. “Well, of course I’d show up. Why would I pass up the chance to get out of the castle and get to know my new friend?”   
Baelfire looked up and his eyes widened at the word ‘friend’. It had been a long time since anyone had referred to him as that before. He was touched. The princess was so kind. He smiled. “Well then …” he started nervously. “If we’re friends now you might as well call me Bae… Baelfire is so formal.”  
“Bae? Okay then! Thank you, BAE for the wonderful time tonight,” she smiled. “But now I really must be going.” She looked in the direction of her castle.   
“Would you like me to walk you back?” He didn’t want her to walk back alone in the dark, even if she wasn’t really far from home at all.  
“No,” she answered as she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. “But thank you. I’ll be fine on my own. I don’t have to go far.” She smiled and squared her shoulders confidently. “Good night, Bae.” She said as she turned around and set off at a run back to her castle.   
“Good night,” he replied quietly as he watched her run back home. He continued to watch her until she was safely inside the castle walls. The castle wasn’t far from where they had been sitting, and he knew that Emma was more than capable of handling herself - she was the daughter of Prince Charming after all - but, being the gentleman he was, he still didn’t want to head back home until he knew that she was safely inside the walls. Of course, she made it back home safely and he turned to head back to his home. He smiled at the thought that he finally, in what felt like forever, had a friend again. A real friend who wasn’t basing her judgment on him by who his father was, she was actually taking the time to get to know him - and was treating him - as an individual person, and for that, he was incredibly grateful to the princess. He couldn’t wait to see Emma again.


	5. Chapter V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly hate the first half of this chapter (I wish I had wrote Red instead of Regina but oh well). Now the SECOND HALF!! SO. MUCH FUN and I hope you enjoy the mood as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you for reading!!

~Present Day~

“Is Emma feeling better?” Regina asked Snow as the ladies rode their horses together in the afternoon. They had wanted to catch up since Snow had come back from a three-week journey a few days ago.   
“What do you mean?” Snow asked. “I knew she had been tired but I didn’t know she was feeling poorly.” They pulled their horses to a halt. In all fairness, she hadn’t really seen Emma much since they got back.  
“She threw up right outside the stable the other day in front of me and Ava. The poor girl looked awful. I was wondering if she was feeling any better.”   
With Regina’s answer, Snow turned white as a ghost. “She … threw up?”   
“Mhm,” Regina nodded her head. “She said she ate something questionable the night before.”   
“But they probably all ate the same thing.” Snow replied. This isn’t good, she thought to herself.   
“Maybe because she was so upset with Ava - she basically assaulted the poor child,” she rolled her eyes. “Forgive me for saying this, Snow, but your oldest daughter has quite the temper and I think you need to deal with it.” She noticed that Snow wasn’t paying any attention. “Snow?” she snapped her finger in Snow’s face. “Is everything all right?”   
Snow snapped back to reality. “This isn’t good ... “ she said.   
“Pfft! No one ever died of food poisoning,” Regina huffed. “She’ll get over it soon enough.”   
“It's not food poisoning, Regina,” Snow interrupted her. “See, Emma has been seeing this boy - Charming and I had no idea until a few days ago - I guess it's been going on for quite some time now. But you said, she threw up and was short with Ava?”   
Regina’s black eyes went wide. “I’m sorry. Do you mean to tell me that the princess - the heir to the throne - YOUR daughter - has been sleeping with some random boy all this time and you had NO idea??” she uttered a little laugh.   
“REGINA!!” Snow yelled. “SHH! Keep your voice down! I thought it was innocent - I had HOPED it was innocent -”   
“Pfft!” Regina cut her off. “A teenage girl sneaks out with a boy at night and you think it’s INNOCENT?? Oh, Snow, that’s cute. Here I thought you knew better than that.” Regina uttered a snicker, then went serious for a moment. “Who is it? Who’s her lover?” she wanted to know. Snow contemplated on telling her. Regina started to get antsy. “Snow…? Who is it? I have to know. Please?”   
Snow closed her eyes tightly before answering. “Baelfire …” she answered.   
Regina’s gloved hand went to her mouth. “As in, Baelfire, the Dark One’s SON???” she asked, eyes wide.   
Snow nodded her head slowly. “Yup. THAT Baelfire …”  
“But, he’s a peasant for one thing!!!” Regina gasped.   
“Well so was Charming. Right now, that little detail is the LEAST of my worries. It really doesn’t matter. I’m more concerned about the fact that he’s - Regina you CAN’T breathe a word of this to ANYONE!”   
Regina looked offended. “Excuse me? I am NOT a gossip.”  
“I didn’t say you were. I’m just saying you NEED to keep this quiet. Don’t tell ANYONE!” Snow whispered frantically.   
Regina looked at Snow. “Now, Snow, don’t jump to conclusions. For all we know Emma really could be sick and it's just a coincidence.”  
Snow wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know, Regina. Too many things are lining up. Ava said she was tired the whole time we were gone. She’s now sick. And she’s irritable -”  
“Um, isn’t Emma USUALLY irritable?” Regina interrupted. Snow shot her an unimpressed look. “Okay, MORE irritable than usual then.” Regina was then quiet for a moment as she took in the information. She suddenly started to giggle.   
Snow wasn’t finding her funny at all. “Excuse me? WHAT exactly is funny about this??” she asked, straight-faced.   
Regina tried to regain herself. “I’m sorry,” she began. “I know I shouldn’t think like this, but … your daughter, the CROWN PRINCESS … fooling around with some boy, like a regular tavern whore.” She started to laugh. “It's just funny! YOUR daughter - of ALL people!!”   
Snow, however was not amused with Regina’s joke, and she ESPECIALLY was not fond of her choice of words. She glared at her friend. “REGINA!! This is SERIOUS!! This …” she looked around before adding, “this could cause some terrible problems! I mean, he’s Rumplestiltskin’s son!!! The DARK ONE!”   
“Yeah, I can see how that’s gonna be a problem…” Regina replied. “The last thing we need is the Dark One being related to royalty.” She rolled her eyes.   
Snow let out a little gasp. “And that is a SCARY thought.”   
Regina shrugged. “Then again, he may not even care. Hey,” she paused, looking at Snow. “Do you think he knows about any of this?” she asked curiously.   
Snow rolled her eyes. “Who knows.”  
“Does David know about any of this?”   
Snow sighed. “No. Well, he just found out that Emma’s been seeing Baelfire, but as far as you and I are discussing? no , he has no idea, and frankly … I dread telling him..”   
“Who says YOU have to tell him?”   
“Well…”   
“This is Emma’s mess.” Regina squared her shoulders. “Emma has made her bed. Now Emma will have to lie in it.”   
“He’ll wanna kill the poor boy, Regina!” Snow interjected.   
“So?” Regina’s response surprised Snow. “Maybe it’ll teach the young man to actually use his head next time.” she put her nose in the air.  
“You kinda can’t learn a lesson when you’re DEAD” Snow replied sternly.   
Regina rolled her eyes. “You’re too soft, Snow White.”   
With that they dismounted their horses and led them back into the stables. 

 

********

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Emma was in her bedchamber, talking to her lady-in-waiting.   
“Oh my goodness, Emma! Are you SURE?” She asked, eyes wide with her hand over her mouth in disbelief.   
Emma nodded her head slowly. “I’m … quite positive now actually. I’ve been feeling rather off these last few weeks and it’s been way too long since my last cycle.” She put her head in her hands, uttering a groan. “My parents will NEVER forgive me for this.” She whined. “Daddy’s gonna be SO angry with me.”   
“Oh, Emma…” Eleanor looked down at her lap and then back at Emma. “How long have you known?”   
“For a little while I guess. I was hoping it was just a coincidence. And that I really did have a touch of whatever might be going around but, or that it was because I was so stressed …” she trailed off, gazing out her window.   
“Does he know?” Eleanor asked her kindly.   
“No.” Emma answered. “Not yet.”   
“Okay, Emma, if you knew or suspected you were DAYS ago, WHY pray tell did you not tell him when you saw him the other night???” She asked her frantically.   
“I don’t know!!” Emma yelled back. She lowered her voice before going on, “I don’t know, okay?! I just, I didn’t think about it. When I’m with him, I forget about my problems. And we were having a really nice time.” She felt tears well in her eyes. “I … I thought that if I had ignored it, maybe it would go away...” she added quietly.  
Eleanor shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that, Emma…” she said softly.  
“I know,” Emma whined in reply.  
“You do realize that you HAVE to tell your parents…” Eleanor told her.   
A look of despair came across Emma’s face. “No!” She exclaimed. “I can’t.”   
“Emma, please!! You HAVE to tell them!! You have to tell them everything! You can’t hide this forever! You may be able to make them believe you’re sick for now, but what happens when you start getting bigger? What then?”   
Emma just looked at her. A tear ran down her cheek. “Oh we should’ve just ran off and married that night!” She cried.   
“No, that would’ve caused other problems and you know that. You need to tell the king and queen! They’ll be able to fix this.”   
“Eleanor! Daddy will want to KILL Baelfire for this!! Don’t you understand that???” She started to feel nauseous again.   
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Your father is fair. He won’t kill Baelfire.” She said to her. “He’ll probably want to talk to him, but he won’t kill him.”   
Emma uttered a pathetic little wail and buried her face in her bed. Eleanor rubbed her back as she cried, trying to soothe her as best she could. “I know this is probably not the right thing to say or the right time to say it, but I did warn you that this could happen, remember?”   
Emma uttered a slow and muffled groan. She sat up and wiped her tears from her face. She sniffed and avoided her lady-in-waiting’s gaze. “I know…” she whispered. She took a deep quivering breath and looked back at Eleanor. “I just want to go see him.” Just as the words left her mouth there was a knock on her door. Emma quickly sat up straight and wiped more tears from her face and eyes. “Come in,” She said as cheerily as was possible.   
One of the servants popped her head through the doorway. “Her majesty would like to speak with you, Crown Princess.”   
Emma looked at Eleanor. She saw the look of fear and dread on Emma’s face. “Tell her I’ll be right there as soon as possible.” She said dryly.   
With that the servant exited her room, leaving Emma and Eleanor alone again. Emma got up to freshen up her face.   
“Are you alright?” Eleanor asked her thoughtfully.   
Emma nodded as she splashed water on her face. “I just want to get this over with. Do you think she knows?” She asked worriedly.   
Eleanor shrugged. “Well the Queen has had three children of her own. I’m guessing she knows a pregnant lady when she sees one. Especially if the pregnant lady is her own daughter…I’m sure she knows.” She saw another look of dread flash across Emma’s face. Eleanor gave her a reassuring smile. “Everything is going to be okay, don’t worry.” 

Snow had called Emma to her bedchamber so that the two of them could talk privately. She signaled to the guards to leave them in privacy. Emma looked nervous.   
“Emma…” Snow began. Emma avoided eye contact. “Emma, is there something you want to tell me?” she pried.   
“Like what?” Emma swallowed. She felt her mouth go dry. She knew exactly what her mother was getting at.   
Snow sighed. “I don’t know. You tell me. Maybe about how you’ve been feeling lately?” she said. She gestured for Emma to sit down next to her on the bed. Emma slowly sat down, her arms crossed and held close to her chest. She was so scared and it wasn’t helping her stomach.   
“I’m fine,” she lied. She looked around her parents’ room, avoiding her mother’s eye contact.   
“I heard you were sick today and have been feeling really tired,” she said.   
Emma rolled her eyes. “Who’d you hear that from? Ava?” she asked in a poisonous tone.   
“It doesn’t matter who I heard it from. What I want to know is what’s going on.”  
Emma wished she could just disappear. “I just ate something questionable is all,” she lied again.   
Snow wasn’t going to fall for Emma’s weak excuses. She knew better. Emma’s symptoms had been going on for far too long. She shook her head and placed her hand on her back. “Emma … how long has this been going on?”  
Emma shrugged. “Some time during the time you and Daddy were gone…”  
“No, Emma. I don’t mean how you’ve been feeling. I mean Baelfire. How long have the two of you been seeing one another.”   
Snow felt Emma tense up at her question. How is this any of her business? Emma thought silently to herself. “Uh… a while …” she finally answered.   
“And how long is ‘a while’?” Snow asked, digging for more information.   
Emma sighed. “A few months …” she answered miserably.   
“More specifically…?” Snow pried. She was determined to get to the bottom of this.   
Emma uttered a frustrated groan. “Since … Ava’s 9th birthday…” she answered. “We met that night and we’ve been seeing each other ever since.”   
“Emma … that is WAY more than ‘a few months’! That was TWO years ago.” Snow replied.   
“Yeah I know.” she replied shortly. “But he’s kind, he’s gentle, and I love him. He makes me feel like a regular girl. I can be myself around him.”   
“I see …” Snow said quietly and thoughtfully. “Um, what … what exactly have you two been doing on these nights you’ve snuck out?”   
Emma tensed at this question. Her mouth went completely dry. This was the LAST conversation she ever wanted to have with her mother. She cleared her throat. “Well … we had a picnic on a few occasions … and we talked mostly …”  
“Mmhmm … that’s all you did? You two JUST talked…?” Snow repeated her answer as a question.   
Emma tightly closed her eyes. “Well … for the first year we did! But then one day we … we realized ... we … we took things …” Emma stammered and awkwardly cleared her throat. “Ya know, Mother? I’d really rather not have this conversation with you.” she added uncomfortably as she smoothed out her skirts. She tended to do that when she was nervous. “All you need to know is that I love Baelfire and he loves me.” she said firmly.   
Snow looked down at her lap and then back at Emma. “Emma … something else is going on … please tell me the truth. You can’t hide it forever.”   
“I … don’t know what you’re talking about …” Emma looked away nervously. She knew exactly what her mother was referring to.   
Snow then looked in the direction of Emma’s stomach. Emma glared at her mother, then turned away, as if she was ashamed.   
“Yeah …. that …” she started. “Wasn’t exactly planned …” she uttered a small nervous half giggle and then looked back at Snow. Snow kept looking at her with a straight face. This situation was not a laughing matter in any form.   
Emma stopped, her giggling was replaced by an expression of horror. “Do we have to tell Daddy?” she asked  
Snow nodded “Yes. Yes we do. He has to know, Emma. and even if you didn’t tell him, let’s face it. He’d find out eventually.”   
Emma sighed. “Can’t you tell him?” she whined.   
Now shook her head. “Oh, no, Sweetheart. This is your dilemma. You have to tell him.”  
“But can you at LEAST put him in a good mood first?” she pleaded desperately.   
Snow couldn’t help but giggle at that. “No, you have to tell him, Emma..  
Emma let out a pathetic wail. “But Mother! He’ll KILL Baelfire!!!” she cried in horror. The tears started to roll down her cheeks.   
Snow grabbed Emma and hugged her, attempting to comfort her. “No, he won’t.” she said. “No one is killing anyone. Your father is the fairest king this land has ever had.”  
“But he’ll be so mad!!!”   
Poor Emma looked so terrified. Snow’s heart broke for her. “Yes. I’m not gonna lie, he WILL be mad, and very disappointed. But he’ll still love you and eventually he will get over it.”   
“Mama, I CAN’T tell him!!!” Emma went white and started to feel dizzy. She put her hand to her head.   
“Now you’re getting yourself all worked up, stop it!” she said as she helped her daughter steady herself. “Everything will work out. I’ll make sure he doesn’t kill the poor boy.” Snow assured her.   
“His name is BAELFIRE,” Emma said in a muffled tone. She lifted her face from her hands. “Or Bae. Please use his name.” She wiped her tears from her face and sniffed. She sighed.   
Snow patted her on her back. “In the meantime, young lady, until we decide on what to do, you’re not to be seen outside the castle without an escort.” she commanded firmly. Emma shot her a look of disbelief. “And right now, I want you to get ready for supper. Your father and I will meet you in your room to talk about this situation.”  
Emma slowly got up from the bed and made her way to her own bedchamber, while trying to muster up the courage to tell her father about her situation. She sighed. All she really wanted right now was to see Baelfire. 

 

*******

Charming was quiet as he tried to grasp what his daughter had told him. His face read utter disappointment. It made Emma feel sad. She hated disappointing her father. But what was she to do? He took a slow, deep breath before starting.   
“Emma … why? How?”   
Emma looked down at her feet. “Why? Because I LOVE him and he loves me. We’re tired of meeting in secret and always being apart. We WANT to get married. And how? Seriously? You’re asking me HOW? We … we’re in love.” Emma turned red, avoiding Charming’s authoritative stare. She always felt that he could stare right through her and she hated it.   
“I mean HOW could you do this??” he stormed. “Of course I know HOW this happened. And frankly …” he stopped himself. He put his hand over his face and took a deep breath. Snow walked up to him and gently placed her hand on his muscular shoulder. She gave it a small squeeze. He straightened his posture and Snow saw his face start to burn with anger. “That’s IT.” he said as he turned toward the door.   
Emma’s face went white with terror. She flew off of her bed, chasing after her father. “NO!! Daddy!! WAIT!!! What are you going to do??” she asked him desperately.   
Snow chased after him. “Charming? Honey, please don’t do anything in haste! Please take a moment to think about this!” she pleaded.   
Charming turned around to face his wife. “Think about this?” he repeated. “THINK about this??? Did HE think about things BEFORE he impregnated my little Emma??” he boomed.   
Emma threw herself in front of her father, tears flooding her eyes. “HIM??? WHY are you being so unfair?? This was me too!! In fact, he was a gentleman! I was the one who encouraged everything!!”   
With that, Charming clenched his jaw and went for his sword. Emma tightly clung to his cloak. “NO!! Daddy, PLEASE!!!” She desperately pleaded. “Please DON’T hurt Baelfire!!! Leave him alone!! He doesn’t even know yet!! And if you hurt him in ANY way, I swear I’ll run away!!” she shot her father a deadly look.   
Snow, taken aback by her daughter’s words, looked at her husband. “David…?” she gave him a pleading look. “Can … can we talk about this first? Just you and me? Before you execute any kind of judgement?”   
Charming was unable to resist his wife’s pleading eyes. He then looked over and saw how upset Emma was, the color drained from her face and struggling to catch her breath. Snow rushed over to Emma and tried to settle her down. She looked at Charming. “Charming, please? All this is greatly upsetting Emma.” she said as she comfortingly rubbed her daughter’s back.   
Charming took a deep breath and gave into his wife’s pleading. “Okay,” he answered. “Okay, you and I will talk about this tonight. But Emma,” he looked Emma in the eye. “This is serious.” Emma looked away from her father and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder and cried. 

 

The following night, Snow and Charming discussed Emma’s predicament before they went to bed. They were sitting up in bed and Snow was snuggled up against Charming, her hand on his chest. Charming had settled down some, but he was still shocked and disappointed in his daughter. He was more upset that Emma had lied to him. She had betrayed his trust, and that hurt him.   
Snow opened her mouth to speak. “You, uh, weren’t exactly going to kill Baelfire earlier … were you?” she asked slowly. Charming was quiet for a moment. Snow glanced up at him. “David!!!” she gasped.   
“No!” he answered. “I mean, I wanted to, but no. Of course I wasn’t going to kill him.” he sighed. He thought for a moment. “Why BAELFIRE? Out of all the men in the kingdom, why HIM?” he asked.   
“Well …” Snow started. “If he is what Emma says he is, and she’s usually a pretty good judge of character, then why wouldn’t she love him?”   
“But, Snow … he’s the Dark One’s son …” he said dryly.   
“Yes, but he’s not his father, Charming,” she reminded him. “He was always a good boy, you know that.”  
Charming inhaled. “Yes, but is he good enough for my little Emma?” he asked, looking at Snow.  
“They’ll have to get married now, you realize that, right?” she said as she looked at his blue eyes. He sighed. That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear right now. At least not right now.   
“I know that,” he said flatly. “I’m just afraid of what could happen if word gets out that she’s expecting a baby while unmarried.” There was concern in his voice. Snow rubbed his chest. “I know,” she replied. “But,” she patted his shoulder and looked at him again. “If we’re careful about this, word won’t get out. We’ll have them get married, we’ll explain any inconsistencies -” she was interrupted by one of Charming’s looks. “Yes, I know, that’s lying, isn’t it?” she acknowledged. “Well,” she took a deep breath. “Until then we can’t let Emma leave the castle. And if she does, she can’t be without an escort. Not until we decide what to do and what explanations to use.”   
“You know she’s gonna hate that,” Charming stated. “Do you know how far along she is?” he asked Snow.   
Snow shook her head. “No. I asked but she said she didn’t know.” she answered. “I’ll help her figure it out tomorrow when she calms down a bit.”  
Charming let out a groan. “So I guess we have to ground her from here on out. She’s not gonna be happy with me.” he said matter-of-factly.   
“I know,” Snow replied. “But we don’t know who might see her. Who might get suspicious.”   
Charming nodded and took another deep breath. “Oh what have these kids gotten themselves into?” he said. He looked at Snow. “Well … tomorrow I’m going to go speak with the young master Baelfire.”  
Snow was certain she heard anger in the way he spit out the name ‘Baelfire’. She looked at him worriedly.   
“I said TALK to him, Snow, not KILL him.” he reassured her. “I don’t wanna hurt him, I just wanna talk.” Snow shot him a quizzical look. “I promise!” he said with a hint of sarcasm that made Snow giggle. “You’re really cute when you’re in your protective mode,” she said teasingly.   
“Really?” he replied with a wink.   
“Uh huh,” Snow grinned. They kissed each other and snuggled in under the blankets. Charming rolled over to turn out the lantern. Snow closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep.   
“Emma’s going to be really mad at me,” Charming mumbled.   
Snow giggled before going serious again. “If Emma should be mad at anyone, she should be mad at herself. It was her own self that got her in this mess.” she yawned. “You’re just doing what’s best for her. Someday she’ll look back on this and understand. She’ll still love you.”   
“I hope she’ll understand …” he replied, a little unsure. With that, Snow put her arm across Charming’s chest and they fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!!

The next morning Emma woke up with a terribly upset stomach and felt particularly irritable. She hadn’t slept well after the dispute she had with her father the evening before. The shouting and pleading had drained her emotionally and physically. She was tired, she felt sick, her head ached, she was sick of her royal duties, and she was already tired of being cooped up at home - she hadn’t been outside since the night before her parents got back, and that had been two weeks ago. All she had to talk to was her family, mainly her siblings. They kept asking her stupid, mindless questions and she desperately wanted to hit them for it. She just wanted to be left alone. But what she wanted most was to be able to see Baelfire, to spend time with him, to be in his arms, have him by her side. But she couldn’t, and it frustrated her and made her feel all the more angry and irritable. Instead, she had to stay put in the castle. The large, cold, lonely castle. She was also greatly dreading the discussion she was to have with her parents that morning. She didn’t want to talk about her situation anymore. At least not with them anyway. Her stomach started to feel worse. She heard footsteps outside her door, followed by a knock. “Princess Emma?” a voice called out cheerfully. It belonged to Eleanor. She knocked again. “Emma? Are you up?” she called. Emma rolled her eyes. She didn’t even want to talk to her right now. “Their majesties would like you to join them and your siblings for breakfast,” she added happily. Emma just wanted to be left alone. The last thing she felt like doing right now was eating. She felt dizzy. “I’m not hungry,” she answered miserably. Her stomach growled unpleasantly and her head began to swim. She laid back down on her bed, holding her stomach. She felt awful. She started to cry. Her stomach then lurched and she frantically reached for her chamberpot.   
“Emma?” Eleanor called again, sounding concerned. “Is everything okay? I’m coming in.” She opened the door and saw Emma leaning over her chamber pot. “Oh no! Emma!” she exclaimed as she ran over to her. She pulled her hair back and held it for her while she heaved. “Would you like me to get the queen?” she asked thoughtfully. Emma uttered a miserable groan. She moved her head but Eleanor wasn’t sure if it was a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. Just then, Snow appeared in the doorway. She was quickly by Emma’s side and relieved Eleanor of her duty. She comfortingly put her hand on Emma’s back. “Are you done, honey?” she sweetly asked her daughter.   
“I think so…” Emma answered in barely a whisper as she tried to catch her breath.   
“Good.” Snow rubbed Emma’s back and moved her chamber pot so it was away from her and she didn’t have to look at it. “Having a bad morning?” she asked her, even though it was obvious. She was more empathizing than questioning. Emma uttered a small groan as she laid her head in Snow’s lap. The warmth of her mother’s lap felt good on her aching head. Snow stroked her hair, adding to the relief. Emma closed her eyes and started to cry again. Snow felt her hot tears hit her lap. “Emma …” she said with concern. “What’s wrong?” she asked.   
Emma sniffed. “My head hurts. My stomach hurts. I feel dizzy and I just want to see him …” she sniffed again and started to shiver and Snow draped a blanket over her.   
Snow sighed and stroked Emma’s forehead. “I know, honey, but you can’t right now.” she said softly. “We don’t wanna risk anyone seeing you, at least not right now.”   
“But I’m not even showing yet!! And it’s not fair if I don’t tell him about this.”   
“I know, but it’s just better this way, okay?”  
Emma started to cry harder. She felt miserable, and being told she couldn’t see the one person she wanted to see made her feel angry. She sniffed as she sat up and wiped her tears from her eyes. She stared out her window and Snow could see that her words failed to reach her. She uttered another sigh and placed her hand on Emma’s leg. “Well I understand that this is the last thing you feel like doing right now, but you have to eat something.” she said firmly.   
Emma gave her a disinterested look. “I’m not hungry.” she whined.   
“I know you aren’t, Dear, but you need to eat something.” she began to get firm with her. “You need to get dressed and come down to breakfast. Then your father and I need to discuss some things with you.”   
Emma sighed. The thought of their upcoming discussion rattled her stomach, making her feel nauseous again. She didn’t want to do this. Oh can this day get any worse? She thought to herself. 

******

Emma took her usual seat next to Ava and was served her breakfast. She didn’t know what it was but it would supposedly help settle her stomach. She tried to take a bite, but the sight of it sent her stomach crawling. Instead, she poked around at it. Her head was throbbing. All her vomiting that morning had made it worse. She still felt terrible and the dread of having to talk to her father just made her feel sicker. She pushed her food away and put her head in her hands.   
Ava looked over at her. “Are you still feeling poorly, Emma?” she asked. She placed her hand on her back as to comfort her big sister. “You’ve been sick off and on since Mama and Daddy went away and that was a long time ago …” she added worriedly. She then looked at Charming. “Emma isn’t dying, is she, Daddy?” she asked anxiously.   
Charming couldn’t help but chuckle at his young daughter’s question. “No, Ava. She’s not dying. But she will be feeling sick for a good while yet.” he answered.   
“What’s wrong with her then?” Robert asked.   
Emma lifted her head from her hands and gave her father a pleading look and shook her head.   
“She’s uh …” he cleared his throat.   
“She hasn’t been sleeping well lately and its caused her to be run down and overtired.” Snow interjected. She winked at Charming. They didn’t want their younger children to know that Emma was going to have a baby just yet. She turned her attention to Emma. “Emma,” she said sternly. “You NEED to eat. Go on,” she coaxed her daughter.   
Charming once again cleared his throat and told his younger children to go and get ready for their riding lesson. Emma closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Here it comes,” she said under her breath. Ava and Robert obeyed and soon it was just Emma and her parents in the dining hall. It's what she had been dreading all night long. She picked at her food, taking small bites.   
Charming broke the silence. “So, Emma,” he began. “Have you told Baelfire about all this yet?” he asked as he folded his arms across his chest.   
Emma looked at her father. “No. When would I have had the chance to tell him?” she asked with defiance in her voice. “You’ve been holding me captive in my bedchamber like a common prisoner since you’ve arrived.” She said as she pushed her food away from herself again. She had had ENOUGH of that stuff.   
“You can cut the attitude, young lady!” Charming said firmly. “I don’t care how sick you’re feeling! I am your father and you will NOT talk to me like THAT. Do you understand?”   
Emma nodded submissively and started to cry. She tried to hold back the tears, but the harder she tried, the faster they came. She couldn’t help it. She hated that she was so quick to cry right now. She regained her composure as quickly as she could and wiped her tears on her sleeve. She straightened her shoulders in her chair.   
“Now,” Charming began again. “Do you realize that you and the boy will -”  
“Baelfire.” Emma corrected.  
Charming returned her answer with a look of annoyance. “What’s that, young lady?” he asked authoritatively.   
Emma looked down at her lap. “Nothing.” she answered quietly.   
“As I was saying … you two are going to have to be married.”   
Emma’s tired face lit up at his words. “M-Married?” she asked. She tried to contain her excitement, but this is what she and Bae had wanted all along. Her stomach filled with butterflies at the thought of finally marrying her true love. She could always be with him. They would never have to sneak around ever again. She would have him by her side. She’d have him with her every night -  
“Yes. Married. Expecting a child outside of wedlock is a serious thing.” Charming’s voice brought her back to reality.   
“And when??” Emma asked all too anxiously, interrupting her father. This discussion wasn’t as scary as she had anticipated at all.   
Charming rolled his eyes in frustration. Emma wasn’t seeming to understand the seriousness of this situation.  
“Well as soon as possible, we hope,” Snow answered. “So as to avoid any kind of potential gossip. We just don’t want this to cause any kind of uprising.”  
Emma was confused. “My - this - could cause some sort of … uprising?” she asked, confused. She didn’t get it.  
“Uprisings have been started for less,” Snow answered. “If this falls into the wrong ears, we could all fall into deep trouble.”   
Emma nodded. “I understand,” she said.   
“Good. In the meantime I am going to go talk with …” Charming swallowed before saying his name, “Baelfire after I finish with you.” he said. Emma detected some spite in the way her father uttered her love’s name and she didn’t like it at all. She glared at Charming when he looked away toward Snow. “But,” he continued. “Until you two are married and until your mother and I have announced your husband, you are not allowed to set foot outside this castle.” He noticed the look of disappointment flash across Emma’s face. “Do you understand?” Emma looked down at her lap and didn’t answer. “Do you understand, Emma?” Charming asked again, this time with more force. Emma hated when he used this tone. It always made her feel like a small child. She swallowed hard. “Yes,” she answered slowly.   
“And,” he added. “If you have to leave this castle for ANY reason, you MUST have an escort of at least twenty guards.” Emma winced at this command. That’s a ridiculous amount of guards for one person. This must be her punishment for betraying her father’s trust. She then looked at him in the eyes. It took all of her strength just to keep from glaring at him and to hold back any defiant comments. “Yes, Daddy.” she said dryly.  
“Very well.” Charming nodded his head once. “You may go back to your bedchamber now.” he told his daughter. Emma got up from her chair and headed toward her room. 

 

******

Later that morning, Charming and his small entourage rode to Rumplestiltskin’s large cabin-like house. He obnoxiously pounded on the door. “OPEN UP!” Charming bellowed.   
The door opened slowly. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” Rumple asked sarcastically. Charming stepped inside, shoving the Dark One off to the side in the process. Rumple was offended by Charming’s rudeness. “It's actually your son that I’m here to talk to,” he answered authoritatively. “Where is Baelfire?”  
Rumple looked puzzled and a little worried. Why in the world would the king be asking to speak to Bae? “Why?” he asked.   
“I want to talk to him is all. So do you know where he is?” Charming asked again.   
“He went with Belle to the village. They should be back soon.” he then offered that Charming sit down.   
“Mm, no thank you, I’d rather stand.” he said defiantly. For all Charming knew, he could have rigged the chair he offered him. Just then Belle and Baelfire came through the door. They stopped and stood still when they saw that the king was standing near their table. Belle was wide-eyed with wonder. Bae looked at Rumple accusingly. “Papa, what did you do?” he asked desperately.   
Rumple threw his hands up in the air. “I didn’t do anything!” he snapped at his son.   
“ENOUGH!” Charming interjected. “I’m actually here to talk with YOU, Baelfire.” he looked him in the eyes.   
“Me?” he asked in disbelief. He wondered if Emma had told her parents about their relationship. He swallowed. “Is everything ... okay?”   
“I need to ask you if you’ve been secretly seeing the princess…” Charming said flatly.   
Baelfire felt everyone’s eyes on him, making him feel more nervous. “P-Princess Emma?” he asked.   
“Yes. Princess Emma. HAVE you been seeing her secretly?” Charming repeated his question. He knew the answer, of course, but he wanted to hear the answer from him.  
“Yes.” Baelfire answered him nervously. He heard Rumple utter a gasp.   
“I see,” Charming said as he crossed his arms. “And how long has all this been going on?”   
Baelfire’s mouth went dry. “Two years,” he answered. He tried to conceal his nervousness. “We - we met and talked a little at Princess Ava’s birthday celebration. We continued to meet with each other as often as possible after that. We fell in love over that time and we planned on marrying. We were going to tell you eventually, but -” he trailed off, feeling like an idiot. Who was he to even think that he, a mere peasant, but worst of all, the son of the Dark One, had a shot at happiness with Princess Emma? He exhaled as quietly as possible. He looked back up at Charming. He expected to see anger on his face, but instead he saw a look of kindness. Baelfire took a deep breath. “I… I promise I was always gentle with her. I would NEVER hurt her. Is, is the princess alright?” he asked anxiously.   
“She’s okay but she’s been feeling ill during these last few weeks.” Charming answered.   
Baelfire’s eyes went wide. There was another gasp. He looked back to see Belle with her hand over her mouth and Rumple staring at him in an angry, horrified stare. “Bae, what did you do?” he asked his son. Baelfire didn’t know what to say. He just stared back at Rumple, making him angrier. “The PRINCESS, Baelfire??? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE???” he started to corner Baelfire, causing him to freeze. “I -” he looked over at Belle, and Belle looked pleadingly at Charming, tears in her eyes. “How could you do this?!” Rumple shouted at his son.   
Baelfire stood his ground and stared a cold, hard stare. “Because we love each other.” he shouted back.  
“Get out.” Rumple ordered him.   
“But, Papa -” Baelfire protested.  
“You’re just like your mother.” Rumple interrupted him.  
Baelfire was taken aback by his hurtful comment. He opened his mouth to speak but his father cut him off once again.   
“Get OUT!”   
Baelfire looked at Belle. She was crying, her face read compassion and anger. She glared at Rumple. She was angry with the way he had just treated his only child.   
Charming thought for a moment. As much as it pained him to admit, he had developed a sudden admiration toward this boy. He greatly respected the way he had told the truth, even when there was a possibility he could’ve been severely punished. He looked at Baelfire and saw the hurt in his eyes. He then looked at Rumple and saw the look of anger on his face. He didn’t feel right leaving Baelfire to possibly face the wrath of his evil father. He inhaled deeply and cleared his throat. “Baelfire? I’m afraid you’re going to have to come along with me.”   
Baelfire looked worried, but he obeyed. He stepped away from the wall, eyeing sadly at Rumple. He didn’t want to leave things on this note, but he knew he also had to obey King David’s orders.   
Charming escorted him out of the house and led him to the carriage. “You’ll be riding with the queen,” he told him as he opened the carriage door and Baelfire climbed in, feeling incredibly awkward. He looked up to see Snow White giving him a warm smile. He returned her smile with a small, uncomfortable one.   
Snow reached over and took his hand. She was always so kind to everyone. “It’ll be okay,” she said softly as one of the knights closed the door. She gently squeezed his hand. Baelfire looked in the direction of his home as the carriage jerked into movement. He wanted to ask Snow how Emma was but he thought against it. After all, Snow White was kind, but she was still the queen, and he was a peasant. For all he knew, he could be awaiting punishment at the castle for what he did with the princess. He kept his head up and looked out the window. He felt Snow’s green eyes on him. She watched him curiously. Despite his effort to hide it, she could tell the young man was nervous. She tried to make the experience less terrifying for him. “Do you love my daughter?” she asked him kindly.   
Baelfire respectfully came to attention and held eye contact. “With all my heart.” he replied. “I meant what I said. We were going to tell our families but -” he paused a moment. “We feared their reactions.”   
Snow continued to look at him thoughtfully. She could instantly see why Emma loved him. He was honest, respectful, and kind. She couldn’t believe he was related to the Dark One. She gave him another one of her warm smiles. He was so tense she wished he’d just relax. She gently placed her hand on his again, hoping that the kind gesture would assure him that everything truly was going to be fine. She giggled. “You can relax, you know,” she started. “If Charming thought of you as a criminal, do you really think he’d let you be in the same space as me?” she laughed, hoping to lighten the mood.   
Baelfire laughed uncomfortably and shook his head, “No.” he answered her.   
Snow smiled at him again. “See? You’ll be fine. Trust me.” she told him, still smiling. “Now, PLEASE! Try to relax a little!!”   
He tried, but he was still nervous. He thought of Emma and how she must be feeling. He hoped he’d be able to see her when they reached the castle. 

***********

Meanwhile, as Snow and Charming were going to talk to Baelfire, Emma was in her bedchamber, laying on her bed and still feeling miserable. There was a knock on her door. “Come in,” she said. Her door opened and Emma lifted her head to see who was coming in. It was Ava. Emma rolled her eyes. Great, she thought. “I don’t feel like playing any games right now, Ava,” she said as she laid her head back down on the pillow.  
“I know.” she replied happily as she climbed up to Emma’s bed. “I just wanted to keep you company. I finished my riding lesson and Regina said you’re not contagious.” she placed her hand on Emma’s hip. “I’m sorry I told on you. Daddy asked. Are you still mad at me?” she asked.   
Emma sighed. Well how could she be mad at her now? “No,” she answered as she tried to sit up so she was facing her sister. Her head started to swim again.  
“You don’t have to sit up if you don’t feel good, Emma.” she told her sister. She started to rub her back. “Here. Mama said this might help you feel better.”   
Emma smiled lightly and laid back down. Her little sister was being so sweet. She suddenly felt bad for assaulting her the way she did on the day she had tattled on her . “I … I’m sorry I treated you like that after you told on me,” she apologized. It was hard for Emma to apologize.   
“I’m over it,” she said. “You weren’t feeling well. I feel mean too when I’m sick.” Emma couldn’t help but giggle at what Ava had just said. Ava thought for a moment before finally asking, “Emma? What does your secret boyfriend look like?”   
“What? My secret boyfriend? Ava, he’s not really a secret anymore, remember?” she then thought about her father’s errand and wondered if he was there yet or not. And if he was, she’d hoped her mother had kept him from doing anything hasty. The thought of things possibly going wrong made her stomach twist again.  
“Right. But what does he look like, Emma? I wanna know. I only saw him once and he was far away and it was dark out.”  
Emma smiled as she thought about him. “Well he has a very warm smile. That was one of the first things I noticed when we met. He has hazel eyes, and his hair, oh my goodness, his hair is just perfect. It's not too long, but it's not too short - perfect for running my fingers through,” she added with a sly smile.   
Ava smiled at her sister. “He sounds handsome, Emma!” she said happily.   
“He is,” she replied dreamily. “And not only that, but what makes him so special is that he’s sweet, kind, caring, respectful, and so gentle.” she suddenly started to tear up. WHY am I starting to cry?? She frustratingly asked herself. She knew why. She was pregnant, she felt miserable, and she wanted him by her side and talking about him to her sister just made her miss him even more.   
“Did he know you were the princess when he met you?” Ava asked.   
Emma smiled as she recalled their first meeting. “No,” she shook her head. “He thought I was a peasant girl.” she giggled. “And I continued to let him think that too - even if it was only for a few minutes.”  
“So he liked you right away then?”  
“I think so.” Emma answered. “He seemed to. When he readily told me his name I felt guilty for lying to him so I told him who I was.” she giggled again. “I thought the poor thing was going to faint. Oh, his reaction was so cute. He was so embarrassed. Then he actually listened to what I had to say and when he empathized with me? He had my heart then.”  
“And you’ve been sneaking out to see him EVERY night??” Ava asked, eyes wide with wonder.   
“Goodness no, not EVERY night!! Only one or two, sometimes three nights a week if it was possible!” she smiled again as she recalled all the nights they had spent together.  
“Where’d you two go all those nights?”  
Emma looked at her sideways. “Oh … somewhere secret …” she answered with a sly smile.   
“You can’t tell me?” Ava asked with a pout.   
Emma shook her head. “If I told you what and where it is, then it wouldn’t be secret now would it? Besides,” she added. “It’s Baelfire’s secret place so I really have no right to tell.”   
They suddenly heard the sound of horses outside her window. “Are they back already?” she asked Ava as she slowly sat up. Ava and Emma made their way over to the window and looked out. They saw their mother and someone else climb out of the carriage. Emma’s heart fluttered when she saw who it was. “I didn’t know they were bringing him HERE!!” she said excitedly as she looked at Ava. Ava poked her head out the window. “THAT’S Baelfire?” she asked.   
Emma quickly nodded. “Yes,” she answered. “Now, be a good little sister and help me freshen up.”   
“What if Daddy doesn’t let you see him yet?” Ava asked her sister.   
A look of annoyance flashed across Emma’s face. “He BETTER let me see him.” she replied bitterly. “He can’t expect us to be under the same roof and NOT see each other.”   
“Not if Daddy says so,” she said in the infamous younger sibling tone. “Because if he does, and I see you two together, I’m gonna tell.”   
And just like that, Emma hated her sister again. She glared at her. “Just help me freshen up, please.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scratch what I said a few chapters ago... THIS was the challenging one!! Again, thank you for reading!!

~Eighteen months ago~

It had been roughly six months since Emma and Baelfire had met at Ava’s birthday celebration and ever since then they had been sneaking out to see each other as much was possible. They would meet in the forest at night and would talk and walk together. They found one another to be good company; they could easily talk to each other and be themselves. When it was the two of them they were just “Emma” and “Baelfire” rather than “The Crown Princess” and “The Dark One’s Son” and they found it incredibly refreshing and were growing more and more attached to one another.  
On one particular night, Emma headed out as soon as she had finished her supper. She had convinced her parents that she was exhausted after a long day and wanted to go to bed early. They readily believed her and excused her, much to Emma’s relief. With that, she had rushed to her bedchamber and quickly changed into her commoner’s clothes. She briefly told her lady-in-waiting where she was going, gave her an estimate as to when she’d be back, and again made her swear never to tell anyone about this. Eleanor hesitantly looked the other way and Emma was gone.   
When she reached their usual meeting point she stopped and listened for a moment. It looked like he wasn’t there. “Bae?” she quietly called. She turned around when she heard a sound behind her.  
“I’m right here,” he said, a little out of breath. “I’m sorry I’m a little late. I kinda got held up for a minute.”  
“You’re fine,” Emma said with a smile. “You didn’t have to run. I could’ve waited five minutes.”   
Baelfire held out his arm to her and she eagerly looped her arm around his elbow. They began to walk. “I’m pretty sure it's considered improper to keep a young lady waiting.”   
Emma looked up at him and smiled. “Well, this young lady would’ve understood.” she replied as she gave his arm a light, affectionate squeeze.   
They walked further into the forest before they came to a fallen tree next to a pond. They sat down on it and were just silent for a few moments before Emma started to speak. She uttered a small sigh. “You have it lucky, do you know that?” she said, breaking the silence.   
Baelfire looked at her, puzzled. “How do you mean?”   
“Well, for starters, you’re not a royal. You can do whatever you feel like. You don’t have to study foreign languages or know the entire history of all the realms and the entire surrounding kingdoms. You don’t have to memorize the order of the Royal Guard, let alone remember ALL their names. And you never have to be under constant supervision.” she let out a sigh. “What I hate most of all are the social outings and duties and attending the stupid councils with my parents. I have to be constantly on for everybody. I’m always expected to act a certain way at all times. I can’t be myself in any way at all and I hate it.” she inhaled deeply and looked down at the ground before looking back at Baelfire. “I’m going to tell you something that I’ve NEVER told anyone else - ever. Not even my lady-in-waiting, Eleanor…” she swallowed before continuing. “I’m the crown princess, the heir to the throne. What if I became queen tomorrow? I’m afraid that I don’t have what it takes to be queen and that I’ll end up greatly disappointing my parents…I didn’t ask to be born into this...” she looked at Baelfire. He was looking at her thoughtfully, taking in what she had just told him. Emma didn’t really know where all that had come from. She just found him so easy to talk to. Then she wondered if she should’ve in fact kept quiet.   
“Well, for one thing,” Baelfire started. “You becoming queen is a LONG way off, so get that out of your head - even if - heaven forbid - something did happen tomorrow, you wouldn’t be queen until you’re 21 anyway, correct? And unless you became a terrible ruthless tyrant that executes without question, there’s no way you could possibly disappoint the king and queen.” Emma giggled at the point he had made. “I know you think otherwise, but they love you,” he went on. “And you have the same gumption and leadership skills as the king himself and that -”  
“That may be so but I don’t have my mother’s kind spirit and soft spokenness.” she interrupted.   
Baelfire turned so that he was directly facing her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “That is nonsense.” he firmly replied. “You were kind to me, weren’t you?”  
Emma was taken back a little by his touch. It felt rather … pleasant, actually. She quickly snapped herself back to reality. “Everyone’s kind to you,” she answered.  
“No. No, they’re not.” he said as he removed his hands from her shoulders.   
“What? But you’re the kindest person I know!! How could anyone not be kind to you?” She asked incredulously.   
Baelfire inhaled slowly and shook his head. “Not everyone is even half as kind as you, Emma. People may not know my face, but once I introduce myself, they immediately know who I am and try to get away as fast as they can. They want nothing to do with me if they can help it.” He was quiet for a moment before continuing. “It’s been like that for a long time. I’d try to join in with the other children and they’d run away. Now I try to start a conversation, or even try to help anyone, they push me away. I mean, I really can’t blame them. My papa has a reputation, he’s done terrible things to people, thinking that he’s protecting me. I understand that they’re only scared, but it just gets …”  
“Lonely …” Emma finished for him and he nodded. She suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for complaining about her life to him. Yes, she had her problems too of course, but at least she had a family that loved her and a lady-in-waiting whom she considered more of a close friend than a glorified servant. He didn’t have any of that.   
“Yeah, that too, but also frustrating.” he looked at Emma. “No one ever wants to take the time to get to know me. They think that just because I’m the Dark One’s son I’m automatically just as bad and as dangerous as he is. You’re actually the first person since then who didn’t run after I told you my name.”  
“Well, why would I have run? It's never right to judge a person by the actions of their parent.” Emma said angrily. “Anyone who would actually take ten seconds to talk to you would see right away what a kind and noble person you are and that you are NOTHING like him.” Anger flashed her eyes. “Don’t pay those idiots any mind. They’re ignorant is what they are and are too blind and stupid to notice that something great is right in front of them.” She squared her shoulders and noticed Baelfire was staring at her. He was greatly touched by her words and how she had delivered them. He was also surprised. No one had ever stood up for him like she had just done.   
Emma went on. “They don’t know what they’re missing,” she said shyly as she cautiously placed her hand on his leg.   
“What?” he was slightly surprised by her sudden touch.  
“Talking with you. Just knowing you” she answered, still looking at him. “These people have no idea what they’re missing out on. I know I’ve only known you for six short months, but …” she trailed off. Baelfire continued to look at Emma, asking with his eyes for her to go on. “See, as the princess, I’ve met a lot of people, many of whom I wish I could UNmeet…” she giggled and then went on. “But you? You’re like no one else I’ve ever met. You’re sweet, you’re kind, caring, considerate, and from what I’ve gathered in this short time, you’re also selfless.” she said as she looked into his teardrop-shaped hazel eyes. She continued to look him in his eyes and noticed that Baelfire too was also looking in her eyes. She suddenly developed jitters in her stomach. She nervously cleared her throat and looked away. “Anyway … I think what I’m trying to say is that …” she trailed off. How do you tell someone that you’re falling in love with them? And even if she did, what if he didn’t feel the same way? What if he only saw her as a friend and nothing more? Should she just tell him? Or wait? She inhaled deeply as she looked down at her lap. As she did so her hair behind her ear came untucked, causing it to fall in front of her face. She instinctively tucked it back behind her ear again.  
“Trying to say what?” Baelfire cocked his head as he encouraged her to go on. He kept looking at Emma. She looked absolutely stunning under the light of their lanterns. He continued to look at her as he waited for her go on and finish her thought.   
“Well … I guess what I’m trying to say is that I …” she paused nervously before continuing. “I’m a pretty good judge of character. Always have been and I’ve kinda prided myself upon that … and … well … you … you seem very noble. More noble than any so-called prince I’ve ever met.” she looked back at Baelfire. She badly wanted to tell him how she felt. Bae was like no one she’d ever met before, she was sure of that. She felt a connection to him, she had felt that ever since their first meeting during Ava’s birthday celebration. He made her laugh, he understood her, he always listened to her, he treated her like a normal girl, and he was respectful. Very respectful. When she was around him, she didn’t feel like the Crown Princess of the Enchanted Forest. Instead, she felt like so much more. She felt like a complete person, her own person. Being around him made her feel happy. Genuinely happy instead of irritable and moody. Instead of feeling trapped, she felt free. With him she felt like she could take on the world if she needed to.   
Baelfire actually felt the same way. He felt different around Emma too. It was almost as if... his life finally made sense. Like he now had a purpose. Not that he didn’t feel his life had a purpose before, he always knew everything happens for a reason, but being with Emma made him actually believe in his heart what he already knew in his head. Being with her made him forget about how crappy his home life was. Around her he didn’t feel depressed anymore. He wondered if she was feeling the same way he was. He watched her as she studied the water in the pond in front of them. She looked so pretty. He suddenly developed an urge to kiss her, but something was holding him back. Was it because of who she was? Or was it because he was afraid she might not return the feelings. He didn’t want to ruin what they already had. Besides, what if she’s actually engaged to marry someone already? He thought to himself. Emma had never mentioned anything about a betrothal, but she WAS sixteen and of marriageable age, and being a Royal, it was all still a possibility. Many princesses were married off to other princes as to create or to keep an alliance between kingdoms. He didn’t really know too much about royals, but he at least knew that much. He wondered if he should just come out and ask her, but he didn’t want to offend her in any way. Just then Emma broke the silence:  
“On a happier, lighter note… have I ever told you about the time my mother tried to play matchmaker?” she asked with a giggle.   
Baelfire snapped back to reality. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”  
Emma good-naturedly rolled her eyes and shook her head before repeating her question. “I said… have I ever told you about the time my mother tried her hand at playing matchmaker?’ she asked again.   
“No.” he answered. He couldn’t help but wonder where Emma was going with this.  
“Oh you have to hear this!” she exclaimed with an eye-roll and a giggle. “So, for my sixteenth birthday, my parents thought it a great idea to host a ball - which I never really want but I understand why they do it - anyway, they invited pretty much every neighboring and surrounding kingdom,” she rolled her eyes to emphasize the word ‘every’. She went on, “Well… there was this so-called prince - I don’t even remember what his name was - something posh sounding like William - anyway his name isn’t important. For some reason my mother thought it would be a good idea to introduce him to me. Somehow she thought he was ‘nice’, I don’t know why. I think she thought us to be a potential couple, but anyway, I took one look at him, and I knew he was NOT the man for me! No no! Ugh!” she shivered as she said ‘Ugh’. “I shot him down in SUCH a hurry, let me tell you! My mother couldn’t believe it! She said I was rude. The boy didn’t care about me at all, he was only looking to be the son-in-law to the Charmings and to hopefully create a lasting alliance with his kingdom. NO. WAY! I saw right through him in half a heartbeat and so did my father! Luckily he explained it to her and she immediately understood, but then she gave me this long lecture on how I, being sixteen, should really start thinking about marriage,” she rolled her eyes. “She thinks I don’t care about such things, but I do. Just … not like she does - or, did, I guess.”  
“So … you’re not then?”  
Emma looked puzzledly at Bae. “Not what?” Was he just not listening? She quickly thought and mentally rolled her eyes. Men!  
Baelfire swallowed nervously before answering. “Not … engaged to be married?”  
“Goodness, NO!” she exclaimed wide-eyed. She started to laugh. “Whatever gave you the idea of THAT?”   
“I don’t know … I just thought that, your mother playing matchmaker, being sixteen and a Royal, that you -”  
“Oh, NO!! No. no, no! Nothing like that! I was just sharing that with you because, looking back, I thought it was funny! See, my mother is a hopeless romantic, always trying to help someone find their true love and not caring if she makes a fool out of herself and -” she turned her head to look back at Baelfire and noticed that he was staring at her. Her eyes scanned from side to side. “Is - is everything alright?” she asked. This was a little awkward. Why was he staring at her all of a sudden. How long had he been staring at her? “Bae…? Are you okay?” she asked slowly as she stared back at him. She looked at his eyes and saw how the light from their lanterns reflected like little candles burning in his pupils. He has the roundest eyes, she thought happily. She had never seen such perfectly round eyes like his before.   
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered. “You just look so …” he trailed off nervously.  
Emma’s heart began to beat a little faster. “So, what?” she prodded.   
“Uh,” he looked from side to side and cleared his throat nervously before answering. “So … pretty,” he quickly spit out. “You just look really pretty tonight.”  
Emma blushed and awkwardly looked down at her lap. “Stop that,” she said, embarrassed. Her heart continued to beat at a quickened pace. She tried to settle it down without Baelfire noticing.   
“Why?” he asked as he cautiously and gently placed his hand on hers.   
Emma’s heart jumped into her throat at his gentle touch. “Why? Because … because it’s …” she uttered an embarrassed giggle. “You do realize you’re talking to Princess Emma, right? And not Ava? Ava’s the pretty one, and I’m just -”  
“Stop,” he interrupted her. “Just - stop. I’m - I’m telling the truth. You - you look - I mean, you ARE really pretty and …” he took a deep breath. The heck with it already! He was just going to come out and tell her how he felt. “Emma?”  
“Yes…?”  
“I’m gonna tell you something, and, well, if you don’t feel the same way then, just… just forget I said anything, okay?”   
“Okay…” she answered slowly. She studied Bae’s face. She noticed that he was starting to sweat and that he was acting extremely nervous. What’s going on with him? She asked herself.   
“I… well… you see… we’ve … been friends for what? Six months now? Well,” he swallowed and paused nervously. Just get it together, Baelfire. Be brave and tell her. He told himself. Why was it so hard to tell her how he felt? He trusted her so what was the big deal? He inhaled before going on. “Well … you … you’re really kind. And smart, and funny. You treat me as if I’m, well, anyone but the Dark One’s son. You don’t have to, but you do, and …” he trailed off and took his eyes off Emma, instead he looked at the ground.   
Emma cocked her head and inched closer to Bae. She raised her arm and placed her hand on the back of shoulder. He looked back at Emma and saw that she was smiling at him. Something about her smile gave him the courage to go on, or was it her friendly gentle gesture? He wasn’t sure but he went on: “I - what I’m trying to say is… I’m … I’m growing quite fond of you, Emma.” He quickly finished the last part of his sentence. He meant what he told her, he only hoped he sounded genuine. He was just so nervous.  
Hearing his last few words made Emma’s heart beat so fast she thought she might faint. So he DOES feel the same as me! She thought happily. She looked at him in his eyes. Oh those round, gorgeous, expressive eyes. Oh how she loved them.   
The way she was just staring at him made Bae nervous. Maybe she didn’t return his feelings? Great! He probably just ruined their friendship. He sighed. “You don’t feel the same way, do you? I’m so sorry! Just forget that I even -“  
“No!” Emma finally found her own courage. “No. What you said… I feel the same way. You are a special, and kind young man who does not deserve the hurt you’ve been through. You’re like no one I’ve ever met before and quite frankly, well… I’m growing incredibly fond of you too.” She continued to look at his eyes. Her eyes made their way down to his lips. She suddenly noticed how perfect his lips were. Not too thin and not too full. The way his bottom lip stuck out slightly more than his top lip. Why was she just noticing them now? They were the most perfect lips she had ever seen. They seemed rather … kissable and she suddenly badly wanted to kiss his kissable lips. She wished he’d kiss her so she could kiss him back. Suddenly she noticed Baelfire slowly leaning his head in toward her. Her heart caught in her throat. He’s gonna do it! She thought excitedly. This is it! Then she closed her eyes and felt his lips against hers. So sweet, so soft, and SO gentle, as if she might break if he kissed her too hard. The experience was absolute magic! She didn’t want this moment to end. She kissed him back and they pulled away. She opened her eyes again and drew in a deep breath as to keep from passing out. A lock of her hair came untucked from behind her ear again and Bae affectionately tucked it back for her. Emma shyly lowered her head and looked up at Baelfire. He was still looking at her, with admiration lighting up his hazel eyes. Emma continued to look at him too. It was weird. She suddenly felt her heart was going to burst. Not from fear, or a heart attack, but from something else. She’d never felt that sensation before and didn’t really know what it meant. Could it be love? Could a girl of only sixteen years feel love like this? Is this how her mother felt when she fell in love with her father? She just didn’t know. She smiled at Bae once more and opened her mouth to speak: “I … I love you.” She didn’t know where those words came from but she was pretty sure she meant them. Actually, it was almost as if her heart had spoken those words instead of her mouth.   
Bae stared at her wide-eyed. Did Emma really just tell him that she loved him? She did! And she MEANT it! Why was he hesitating? He loved her back. Just say it back! He saw Emma biting her bottom lip and pleading with her eyes for him to answer her. “I … love you too.” He finally answered. He breathed out. That wasn’t so bad. He didn’t know why he even hesitated. He felt kinda like a jerk for making her wait so long for his reply.   
With his reply Emma’s face lit up with the biggest smile ever. She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing if affectionately. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, returning her hug.   
Emma didn’t want this moment to end but she knew it would have to. She hesitantly pulled away. “I really should head back home now though,” she said sadly.  
“Yeah, me too,” Baelfire replied. “I’ll walk you home.” He stood up from the log and held out his hand to Emma, helping her up like the gentleman he was.   
“Thank you.” She smiled up at him and eagerly took his hand and stood up. She looped her arm through his elbow and they walked back to the edge of the forest outside the Charming castle.   
When they got close enough to the castle, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. As always, Baelfire watched to make sure that Emma made it safely through the castle gate before he headed back home. As Emma made her way back to her room she recalled what had happened that night. She couldn’t believe it! She just had her first kiss and she had shared it with Baelfire! It was SUCH a magical experience! She also kept wondering what that feeling in her heart was. Could it be what she thought it was? Could it be her heart telling her that he was the the one? She hoped it was. She wouldn’t mind giving her heart to Bae and spending the rest of her life with him. Why was she thinking like this? She never thought such sappy thoughts before. A year ago, she would’ve been content never to have a man in her life. But now? She kept thinking these thoughts as she walked quietly to her room. She opened the door to her bedchamber and to her surprise, there was Eleanor, sitting on her bed waiting for her.  
“What are you doing in my bedchamber? And sitting on my bed?” She asked her lady-in-waiting.  
“Just waiting for you to get home and making sure that you got home safely.” She said as she rose from the bed.   
“Actually, I’m glad you’re in my room. Guess what happened tonight??” She excitedly asked as she began to undress and get ready for bed.  
“Uhh… I don’t know! Tell me.”   
“Bae kissed me!!!” She exclaimed excitedly.  
“He WHAT???” Eleanor asked. Her brown eyes wide with disbelief as she helped Emma out of her clothes.   
“And I kissed him back!” Emma’s voice was muffled as she slipped her nightgown on over her smock. “Oh, Eleanor, it was the most beautiful and magical moment of my life!” She added dreamily as she let herself dramatically fall backward on her bed. She sighed happily.  
Eleanor wasn’t really sharing in Emma’s excitement. “Magical, huh?” She asked. “You do know what they say about magic, don’t you?” She put her hands on her hips.  
Emma sat up and looked at her. “That it’s magical?”  
“No!! That it always comes with a price.”  
“Pfft!” Emma laughed at her comment. “Yeah! Real, ACTUAL magic. Not a KISS! Kisses aren’t actual magic. There’s no price to pay, you silly foolish girl!”  
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Just be careful, Emma,” she cautioned.   
“Be careful?” Emma repeated puzzledly. “Of a KISS???”  
“Yes. It may seem like no big deal now, but an innocent kiss can lead to not so innocent other things.”   
Emma still looked puzzled. She wasn’t getting it. “Like…?” She prodded.   
“Well…” Eleanor was starting to blush. “You know … stuff.” She used her eyebrows to emphasize the word ‘stuff’.  
Emma finally understood what she was getting at and looked horrified at the realization. “Oh my goodness, EW!!!” She exclaimed. “No!! Oh, NO!! It was just a kiss! Neither one of us is ready for THAT yet!”  
“You think that now, Emma, and I’m glad you do, but what happens if or when you two fall deeper in love? What then? You always need to remember and keep in mind that you two are NOT married. Therefore you have NO business getting intimate with each other. In fact, being that you two kissed, you should really tell your parents. Or at least the queen. You two can properly court and you won’t be tempted to do anything immoral.”  
Emma still looked horrified. “No.” She said defiantly. “I am NOT telling my parents about Bae. They’ll just tell me I can’t see him anymore and I don’t want that.”  
Eleanor looked at her annoyedly. Emma just didn’t understand. She sighed. So naive. She thought to herself. I hope Bae is who and what you think he is.   
Emma looked down at her lap and then back at her lady-in-waiting. “I - I promise we won’t do anything like that, okay?” She sounded hurt and Eleanor suddenly felt bad. Emma had just had a wonderful night and she pretty much ruined the whole experience for her. Emma sighed before going on. “You know? I think … I think that I love Baelfire.” She said slowly. “He makes me happy and he’s really kind. I - told him that I love him tonight.”   
“You did?”   
“Yeah,” she nodded her head. “And he said he loved me too. It took him a minute but I think he was just scared. He’s really shy, you know.”  
“Yeah, isolation will do that to you.” Eleanor pointed out. “You think he meant it?” She wondered if she maybe shouldn’t have asked that.  
“Oh yes.” Emma answered quickly. “I could tell he meant it. I can tell when people lie or tell the truth, remember? Plus, he … ya know, I could tell he was really nervous when he told me how he felt - right before we kissed, that is - and he still told me. He was really brave. I found it really, really admirable. And he kissed me SO gently, Eleanor! He kissed me as if he was afraid I was going to break. I mean, this was my first kiss so for all I know, all men could kiss like that, but I don’t know! He - he seemed to kiss me like Daddy kisses Mother. Sweet and gentle.” She sighed. “I know I’ve always said that my parents are gross but … but I lied all those years. I’ve always wanted a man who would treat me like Daddy treats Mother. And … and I think Bae would treat me like that.”  
Eleanor was quiet as she took in what the crown princess was telling her. Emma seemed excited about all this but she wasn’t so sure. She wanted to be, for Emma’s sake, but she just wasn’t sure about the whole “liking Baelfire” thing. Emma was sure and convinced that he was a good person who was as light as his father is dark, but was she right? Yes, Emma was always a good judge of character, but for the princess’ sake, she hoped that it was true and that her heart wasn’t blinding her judgement. She guessed that time would tell.   
“Well,” Emma’s voice brought Eleanor back to reality. “I’m suddenly exhausted. I’d love to sit here and talk to you about my magical experience all night but I need some sleep!” She yawned as she finished her sentence and Eleanor stood up from the bed.   
“You need anything before you go to sleep, Crown Princess?” She asked before heading out the door.  
Emma shook her head as she snuggled in under her blankets. “No. I’m good for the night, but thank you anyway.”   
“Okay then,” Eleanor replied. “I’ll see you in the morning when it’s time to help you dress.” She added as she stepped outside of Emma’s bedchamber and quietly closed the door behind her.  
Emma watched her exit her room before stretching to blow out her lantern. She nestled back into her bed under her covers and closed her eyes. As she tried to fall asleep she again recalled the events of tonight. She thought of Baelfire and what he might be thinking at this moment. Was he thinking the same thing she was? That he had possibly found his match? His possible soulmate? She smiled as she thought of Bae. There was just something about him that made her happy. As she laid in bed falling asleep, she couldn’t help but wonder what the future would hold for the two of them.


	8. Chapter 8

~Present Day~

 

“I had no idea they were actually bringing him HERE,” Emma exclaimed as she quickly went down the stairs, heading for the castle’s entrance. “I thought they were just gonna talk to him and that was it!”   
Ava followed close behind her. “I thought you weren’t feeling well,” she said as struggled to keep up with her sister. Goodness! For a girl who’s feeling ill, she can move FAST! She thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.   
The girls came to a halt when they came to the entrance. Emma was staring at the door, waiting for it to open. Ava noticed that she was fidgeting with her hands and biting her bottom lip, a sure sign that Emma was anxious. She quickly smoothed out her skirt and combed her fingers through her hair, trying to get it to fall correctly. She took a deep breath and as she exhaled, she placed her hand on her upset stomach, as if that might settle it. Even though she had desperately wanted to see Baelfire, for some reason she was now feeling nervous about it. She continued to stare at the door for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, it began to open and there was Baelfire, looking as nervous as ever, while being closely followed by Charming and Snow. The three of them barely got through the door before Emma ran up to Baelfire.  
“Bae!” she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. “I’ve missed you so much.” She whispered in his ear.   
Baelfire returned her embrace, lifting her slightly off the ground as he did so, then pulled away, gently holding her shoulders. “Is it true?” he asked as he looked down at her stomach before looking back up at her eyes.   
“Mhm,” she nodded her head. “We - we’re gonna have a baby …” She looked in his eyes, hoping to somehow figure out what he was thinking. He didn’t say anything to her, he just pulled her into another embrace, causing Emma to let out a sigh of relief. She began to tear up again.   
“A WHAT??” Ava exclaimed, her brown eyes wide with disbelief.  
“Shh!” Snow hushed her young daughter. “We’ll talk about it later.”  
“No,” Ava protested. “Emma’s not married! How can she be having a baby?”  
“Ava!” Snow snapped. “I said we’ll talk it about it later, okay?”  
Reluctantly, Ava held her tongue and retreated back upstairs, leaving her parents to talk with her sister. She was glad she wasn’t Emma at the moment.   
Once Ava was out of sight, Charming cleared his throat. “Okay,” he began as he grabbed Baelfire by the back of his shirt and roughly yanked him away from Emma. “That is enough of that!” He noticed Emma giving him a shooting glare and he quickly brushed her look from his mind. “First things first,” he crossed his arms as he looked down on Baelfire. “Today you’ll just be getting used to things. Shown where everything is. Where you’ll be sleeping, when mealtimes are, what time you’ll be getting up, what’ll be expected out of you, all that good stuff. Tomorrow, your Royal training begins, and the first thing we’re doing, is taking care of that mop you call hair and-”  
“And WHAT is wrong with his hair?” Emma angrily interrupted.  
“What’s wrong with it? Where do I even begin?!” Charming bellowed. “Its awful! He looks like an eighteen-year-old ragamuffin! His hair is practically falling in his eyes. I’ve seen sheepdogs less shaggy than him! And combing it the way he does? Its gotta go!”  
“But nothing’s wrong with his hair! I like it the way it is.” Emma protested. She felt her anger rising again. She thought her father was being such a jerk.   
“I’m sorry, but if he’s going to be a Royal now, he has to look and dress the part.” He really wasn’t sorry at all. He HATED how Baelfire’s hair looked right now. He switched his eye contact back to Bae. “Tomorrow we are cutting your hair. And we’re changing your wardrobe. Understand?”   
Baelfire looked up at Charming and defiantly glared at him. He didn’t appreciate him insulting his hair the way he did. Tease or pick on him any way you want, but don’t insult the hair. He took pride in his awesome hair, he always had - plus, Emma liked it too (a bonus). Charming noticed the look of defiance he was getting. He took one step forward (almost as if it were a challenge) and angrily and authoritatively looked down on Baelfire.   
“Do NOT give me that look EVER again, young man, do you understand me? I am your soon to be father-in-law but more importantly, I am also the king, and you will treat me with the highest, utmost respect, or there will be trouble.” He continued staring down at Bae (who was 5 inches shorter than Charming), as if he was using a form of intimidation on him, showing him who was boss. Their behavior reminded Emma of two stallions. How the older, dominant leader will try to intimidate and scare the younger one away from stealing one of his young fillies. She thought his behavior was pathetic and it angered her. Men, she thought to herself. However, she did feel a twinge of pride when she noticed that Baelfire didn’t back down.   
Thankfully, Snow could see that their behavior wasn’t going anywhere productive. She cleared her throat. “Excuse me, Sweetheart, but don’t you think it’s best that we show the boy around the castle and it’s premises now? And where he’ll be sleeping?”  
“Oh! May I show him around? Please, Mother?” Emma anxiously piped in as she looked from her mother then to Baelfire. Snow thought for a moment before answering her. It’s broad daylight and there are so many people around. What trouble could they possibly get into? She didn’t see the harm in letting Emma get him acquainted with his new living quarters. But she also didn’t want to go against her husband. She looked at Charming as she answered Emma. “Ask your father.”  
Emma mentally rolled her eyes. Right now, after the way her father had just treated Bae, he was the last person she wanted to talk to. She inhaled deeply, trying to extinguish her current ill feelings toward him. She swallowed. “May I please help Bae get acquainted with the castle, Daddy?” She tried to sound as sweet and respectful as she could. She studied her father’s face as she waited for his answer; she could tell he wasn’t happy with what she had just asked.   
Charming tried to think of a reason why he should say no, but he couldn’t think of one, much to his frustration. After all, what trouble could they get into with so many people around? He let out an annoyed sigh. “Go on.”’he answered as he rolled his eyes.   
At his answer Emma quickly went over to Baelfire and enthusiastically grabbed his hand. The first place she wanted to show him was the stables. “Come,” she said with a smile as she yanked him back toward the castle entrance. “There’s someone I’ve been wanting you to meet!” 

 

“So where are we going?” Baelfire anxiously asked as Emma enthusiastically continued to lead him to this mystery place.   
“The stables, silly.” They came to the entrance of the stables and as Emma opened the door Baelfire immediately smelled the distinct smell of horse. Emma led him over to the stall of a large dapple gray mare who greeted Emma with an excited whinny as she poked her large head over her stall. “There’s my sweet girl,” she said sweetly. She reached out and stroked her mare’s head. Emma looked for Baelfire and noticed that he stood a few feet back. Obviously he didn’t have much experience with horses. That’s going to have to change, she thought to herself as she kissed the mare’s velvety nose. “C’mere,” She motioned to Bae and he gingerly stepped closer. She took his hand and pulled him a little closer. “This is Esmeralda.” She said proudly.  
Bae stared at the large dapple mare. She seemed much larger than most horses he had seen. Grant it, he had only seen horses from a healthy distance, but he could still see that this one was rather large. “And she’s yours?” He asked. He noticed as Esmeralda pinned her ears back at his presence.  
“Yes she is,” Emma proudly answered as she stroked Esmeralda’s muscular neck. “She’s the first and only daughter of my father’s stallion, Alchemist, and our stables’ finest mare.” She affectionately scratched behind Esmeralda’s ear. The large mare uttered a contented grunt. At that, Emma took Bae’s hand and guided it toward the horse. “You can touch her.” She said encouragingly.  
“Uh… with all due respect, Em... I’d rather not…” he pulled his hand away as Esmeralda aggressively snapped at him.   
“HEY NOW!” Emma reproachfully snapped her black nose, causing Esmeralda to submissively take a step back. “You stop that, young lady! This is the man I love and who I’m to marry and I would appreciate it if you treat him the same as you treat me.” Esmeralda uttered a snort.   
Baelfire nervously stepped forward. “So, uh… how exactly did you become the owner of such a … spirited beast?”   
Emma laughed. “Long story. I actually assisted in her foaling.”  
Baelfire raised his eyebrows in amusement. “No you didn’t.” He said with a smile. He tried to picture Emma getting all dirty helping a horse give birth. There really was nothing she couldn’t do.  
“Oh but I assure you I did, and I soiled my royal clothes too, much to Mother’s dismay. I was only seven and I thought it was one the most magical and exciting experiences of my life. See, it was a rough birth and the mare, needed some assistance so my father jumped right in, and because he thought it would make a good experience for me, he let me help him. We got Esmeralda out but her mother sadly couldn’t be saved - which was … really sad. She was an amazing horse. My father tried to encourage another mare to take care of her but she was rejected and when I overheard that Daddy was going to destroy her, I stepped in, begged him not to, and promised I’d raise and take care of her myself. So I did and here she is.”  
Baelfire stared at Emma in amazement, looked up at Esmeralda, then switched his gaze back to Emma. “So she’s kinda like your baby then?” he asked with a smile.   
Emma shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” she smiled and looked at her horse. “The stable hands don’t like her though. They say she’s possessed…” she stroked Esmeralda’s jaw. “But I say she’s just misunderstood. But we understand each other, don’t we, girl?” The mare lowered her massive head and affectionately pressed it against Emma’s chest. Emma quickly kissed her and scratched behind her ear. Esmeralda then raised her head and started tentatively looking at Baelfire, much to his uneasiness. He attempted to take a step (or two) back but Emma grabbed his arm and held him there. “It’s fine…” she reassured him. “She has to get used to you.” She squeezed his arm as to encourage him. “You can’t let her sense that you’re scared of her or -”  
“I’m not scared of her!” Baelfire offensively interjected.  
Emma giggled. “Please,” she shook her head. “Your body language tells me different. Anyway… if she senses that you’re leery of her, she’ll hold it over your head forever and you two will never get along…” she added with a grin. “You have to display confidence.” she straightened her shoulders as to demonstrate her point, causing Baelfire to smile and relax. His ease quickly diminished though as soon as Esmeralda’s head came closer to his body. “Everything’s okay, see?” Emma reassured in a soft sweet voice. To be honest Baelfire wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or the horse. Perhaps both? He looked at Emma and then back at the massive mare. The mare cautiously took in the unfamiliar scent of this stranger and once she was sure he didn’t pose a threat, she pricked her ears forward and lowered her head down to his waist where she delivered a strong enthusiastic nudge. The sudden blow did not help Baelfire’s uneasiness and he jumped back and almost fell backward, causing Emma to giggle. She had tried not to, but she thought his reaction was so funny. She quickly swallowed down her laughter and regained her composure. “It’s fine!” she reassured. “Her ears were up! She was just seeing if you had any treats for her.” she stifled another laugh. “She wasn’t trying to mean, I promise. She’s just not the most gentle mare in the herd.” she giggled as she reached out and grabbed Baelfire’s sleeve and yanked him back to her side. When he stood next to Emma Esmeralda began to sniff him again, this time though, it was his hair. After she sniffed it she began to playfully nip at it. Emma squeezed his arm in delight. “Aww! She likes your hair!” She pointed out, causing Bae to smile. “See? I always knew you were a mare of great taste, Esmeralda!” she patted the large mare’s muscular neck and Baelfire beamed at her remark. Emma was always gushing over his hair in some shape or form. She reached up to touch it. “I can’t say that I blame her… it is rather amazing…” she said as she slowly ran her fingers through it.  
“So is yours…” Bae replied as he affectionately and gently tugged at her golden curls.  
The way he gently tugged at her hair sent pleasant little shivers down Emma’s spine and she let her head tip slightly back in pleasure, closing her eyes. “Mmm… that feels good but you shouldn’t do that…” she warned. “Someone might catch us.”  
“Then let them catch us...” Baelfire replied. He put his finger under her chin and leaned his head down to kiss her. Just as he was about to do so, Emma pulled away. “No, seriously. Not here. One of the stable hands might see and report back to Daddy and he’ll get mad and...” She sighed. She badly wanted to kiss him ever since he stepped through the castle entrance. Baelfire sighed. She was right and he quickly forced down his desires.  
“Well now that you’ve become acquainted with Esmeralda, you probably want to see the actual castle and OH! You have to meet Eleanor!!” Emma excitedly grabbed his hand and dragged him back toward the castle.

**********

When they came through the castle entrance Emma peeked around for her father being that he was still the last person she felt like talking to right now. She quickly glanced down the hall and saw her mother discussing who knows what with one of their courtiers. She attempted to quietly lead Baelfire upstairs. They were halfway up the stairs when she heard her mother’s voice.   
“Emma?”  
Emma stopped dead in her tracks and closed her eyes tightly at the sound of her mother’s stern tone. She turned around, with Baelfire following suit. “Yes, Mother?”  
Snow crossed her arms. “Where do you think you two are going?”  
Emma mentally rolled her eyes. Of course her mother automatically assumed they had improper intentions. She took a deep breath so as to conceal her feelings of sudden contempt and annoyance. “I was going to introduce Bae to Eleanor.” She answered.  
Snow studied them carefully and came to the conclusion that Emma was telling the truth. “Okay but make sure you two come back downstairs as soon as you’re done.”  
“Yes, of course, Mother.” She then switched her eye contact to Baelfire. “Now c’mon! You have to meet her!”   
With that they ran up the stairs. 

They came to the door of Eleanor’s bedchamber and Emma obnoxiously banged on her door. “ELEANOOORR!!!” She banged again. “ELEANOR! I NEED YOU!” She was about to bang on the door again until she heard the sound of the large heavy door opening. It opened and there was Eleanor.  
“Yes, Princess?” She sounded annoyed. How dare she be annoyed with the crown princess’ orders. It was her job after all. Her attitude suddenly filled Emma with a feeling of strong irritance. She rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t you answer as soon as I called your name?”  
Oh, Emma could be so infuriating. “I said I was coming. You just couldn’t hear me because you were too busy yelling my name.”  
“Oh. Well anyway…” she took Baelfire’s hand. “Bae? This is my waiting lady, who’s also my closest friend, Eleanor.” She motioned her hands in the direction of her waiting lady as she introduced her to him.   
Eleanor studied Bae from head to toe. “So this is Baelfire…” she said, continuing to look at him. Somehow she had pictured him taller, and with tidier hair. But instead, here he was in front of her, on the short side (but on the taller end of the short spectrum) and with the most tousled hair she had ever seen. He had a nice smile, it was warm and shy. His eyes were nice too - really round and somehow when he smiled it reached up to his eyes making it look like they too were in fact smiling. She didn’t find him ugly by any means, just, messy in appearance. She would’ve thought Emma’s taste would be a bit more refined but hey, it’s what’s on the inside that counted right? And if he treated Emma well, then who cared if he looked messy.   
Baelfire awkwardly itched his nose. “Emma’s told me so much about you.” He sounded a bit nervous.  
“Oh has she now?” She quickly glanced at Emma before switching contact back to Bae. “All good things I hope.” She crossed her arms.  
Emma quickly stepped in. “Of course!” She exclaimed as she grabbed his hand. She was about to turn around and take him somewhere else when Eleanor spoke again.  
“It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Baelfire.” She said politely.  
“You as well.” Bae smiled and gave her a quick respectful nod before he felt Emma tug on his arm.   
“C’mon.” She said in a lowered voice as she lead him out of Eleanor’s room. “There’s another place I want to show you while we’re up here.” They walked to the next door over and Emma opened it, revealing a huge and extravagant chamber. “My room.” She smiled while Baelfire’s eyes went wide in amazement.   
“Wow.” He muttered as his eyes explored the ginormous bedchamber. He then noticed her bed. It was huge. He then looked back at Emma, eyes still wide. He pointed to the bed. “THAT’S your bed?!”  
Emma nodded and grinned. Wow, he’s adorable. “Mhm!” She walked up to him and placed her hands on his arms. “And soon to be yours too…” she raised her hand to his head and began to play with his hair. He then looked at Emma in the eyes. Her green eyes were sparkling with happiness as she looked up at him. He looked down at her stomach and thought of the little tiny life that was growing in there. He placed his hand gently on her belly.   
“How long have you known?”  
Emma looked down at his hand that was on her belly then back up at Baelfire. “You mean about the baby…?” That felt so weird to say. They were having a baby.  
“Yeah. The baby. How long have you known?” He asked again.  
Emma inhaled before answering. “Um… I don’t know… a couple of weeks … I guess.” She swallowed then looked down at the floor. “I uh… kinda knew that last night we saw each other.”  
Baelfire put his finger under her chin so as to get her to look at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”  
Emma shrugged. “I don’t know. I wanted to … but... I was … scared I guess.”   
Baelfire gently ran his fingers through one of her stray curls before replying. “I understand that, but I wish you would’ve told me. I would’ve talked to your parents with you. It’s not fair that you did this all by yourself. I would’ve wanted to be there.” He cupped her cheek with his hand. “I mean, it’s my responsibility too. We’re in this together.”  
Emma was greatly touched by his words. She placed her hand on his wrist and snuggled her face into his hand. She really did love this young man. She couldn’t wait to marry him. She wished she had told him as soon as she had suspected, but for some reason she didn’t and there was nothing she could do about it now. “I know you would’ve. And I should’ve told you - I wanted to tell you… but…” she felt tears begin to well in her eyes and she tried to blink them away. Darn baby hormones.  
Baelfire quickly pulled her into an embrace and kissed her forehead. Then he pulled away and leaned down to kiss her sweetly on her lips. She closed her eyes in bliss as she raised her arms to wrap them around his neck. It had only been a few weeks but oh how she had missed this. His warm smile, his smell, his gentle touch, his sweet but passionate kisses, the way he held her. Suddenly, all her fears about conceiving a baby out of wedlock, of what her parents now possibly thought of her, and what the future held vanished as he held her. She returned his kiss while tightening her grip around his neck. She pulled away and smiled as she looked in his eyes. Those gorgeous, round, expressive hazel eyes - how she loved them. She stood on her toes and kissed him again and began to press into him. “I’ve missed you so much, Bae,” her voice was muffled as he returned her kiss.   
“I missed you too…” he answered. “More than you know.” He kissed her again and as he did so, he let his fingers run slowly through her hair and then slid them all the way down to the small of her back, causing Emma to utter a pleasured sigh. She smiled and placed her hands on his face as she passionately returned his kiss. She began to kiss his jaw, slowly making her way to the sweet spot located just beneath his ear. She was just about to hit that spot when she suddenly heard familiar footsteps outside her room. She quickly pulled away from Bae and as soon as she did, there was her father standing in her doorway, arms crossed, giving her the sternest look she had ever seen him give her. Oh… she quickly thought to herself. How much had he seen?  
“What is he doing in here?” Charming asked as he shot a shooting glare in Baelfire’s direction.  
“He … I was showing him around the castle,” she stammered. “Y-you said I could, remember? And I introdu-”  
“He does NOT need to know where your room is.” Charming interrupted.   
“But what if he gets lo-” she quickly changed her choice of words. “What if he needs something?”  
Charming rolled his eyes. “Then he can ask one of the servants. Or better yet,” he switched his eye contact to Baelfire before continuing. “He can get it himself.” He once again glared at Bae. Obviously he would have to keep him busy. So busy that he wouldn’t be thinking of Emma. He continued to look Baelfire square in the eye. “I do not want you anywhere NEAR Emma’s chambers until your wedding night. Do you understand?” Baelfire just stared defiantly at him. Charming’s patience started to waver. “Do you understand me, young man?”  
“Yes.” Bae muttered as he glanced quickly at Emma.   
“I’m sorry? Yes, who?” Charming crossed his arms.  
Baelfire took a deep breath as he tried to force down his defiance. This was the king he was talking to afterall. And it was out of the goodness of his heart that he brought him here. He was, in all fairness, allowing him to marry his daughter when in reality, he instead could’ve just made an example out of him by having him sterilized, or executed, or both, for what he did with the princess. He also could’ve left him to face the wrath of his own father but he didn’t. Instead, he had mercy on him and took him into his castle. He didn’t have to do all this, but he did. The least he could do was show him at least an ounce of respect. Charming was only protecting his daughter. He opened his mouth to answer. “Yes, Your Majesty.”   
“That’s better.” He said as tried to stifle a cocky grin. That felt way too good. He switched his glance to his daughter. “Emma? Your mother needs your assistance.”  
A look of protest flashed across Emma’s face. “But -“  
“Now, Emma.” Charming said sternly. “And you,” he looked at Baelfire as Emma left her room to go find her mother. “Come with me,” he motioned. “I’ll show you where you’ll be staying until you’re married to … my daughter.” He then led Baelfire out of Emma’s bedchamber and headed for the servants’ quarters.   
“This is where you’ll be staying.” He said abruptly as he motioned to the door of the servants’ quarters. “I’ll let you settle in. Supper is at exactly 6 pm sharp. Understand?”  
Baelfire nodded. “Yes.”  
“Good. And as far as rising… I assume you’re an early riser.” Because he had been a peasant once just like Bae, Charming figured he was used to waking up early.  
“Yes. I am… I usually wake up sometime around 3am.” He answered Charming respectfully.  
Charming nodded in approval. At least he understands the value of rising early. He thought to himself. “So do I.” He replied. Now,” he cleared his throat. “I’ll see you at the supper table.” With that he turned around and walked off, leaving Baelfire awkwardly standing outside the servants’ quarters’ door. He sighed as he went through the door.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you are all caught up and up to date with WattPad, FF.net, and Tumblr readers! Thank you again for taking the time out of your day to read my story! I greatly appreciate it! *insert revolving hearts emoji*

~Fifteen months ago~

 

Emma felt rather angry as she walked to meet with Baelfire. Earlier that evening her parents had told her some news that did not make her happy. When she finally reached Baelfire a huge grin flashed across his face, he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her lips, then quickly noticed that her kiss in return lacked enthusiasm. That was odd. He pulled away. “Em? Is everything alright?” he asked with concern. “No.” she answered as she let her arms fall dramatically to her side. “Well…” he gently held her shoulders. “Do you wanna… talk about it?” He hoped that her problem wasn’t with him. Emma let out a sigh of frustration as she sat down on the ground. “I just found out that my father will be going to Princess Aurora’s kingdom and he said that my siblings and I have to go with him!” “Okay…” Bae was relieved that her problem hadn’t been with him but failed to understand why she was so upset; visiting a neighboring kingdom sounded like fun, not a reason to be upset over. “Uh… how is that a bad thing?” “How is that a bad thing?!” she looked at him with disbelief. “I hate going there!” “Why?” he curiously asked.  
Emma rolled her eyes. Shouldn’t that be enough reason? “Because I just don’t like it there. It looks like a blasted barren wasteland. Not a tree in sight once you get there. But mostly it’s Aurora herself.” She rolled her eyes as she recalled the last time her parents dragged her to that kingdom.  
Baelfire chuckled at Emma’s answer and she didn’t find that amusing.  
“It’s not funny, Bae!” she swatted his arm. “She’s awful! She’s your typical damsel-in-distress princess. Always whining about something while thinking the world owes her everything. Talk about spoiled rotten. And I can’t leave out the fact that she’s incredibly intrusive! Ugh!” she made a face and then sighed. “Do you even know how long I’ll be gone?”  
“No,” Bae answered slowly. “Hopefully not long?”  
“Yeah, that’s what I hoped too!” she angrily rolled her eyes. “We’re going to be there for three weeks. THREE. Blasted. Weeks. Might as well be an eternity!”  
“Oh…” he looked at Emma, his round eyes displaying disappointment. Three weeks was kind of a long time. “Well… when do you leave?”  
“Two weeks.” Emma answered miserably. “And unfortunately, because of packing and stupid travel preparations, this is the last time I’ll be able to see you until I get back.” She glanced at him with sadness. Baelfire inched closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and planted an affectionate and comforting kiss on her temple. She snuggled into his embrace. “So in reality I won’t see you for a month. And then some.” she added as she rested her head on his shoulder.  
There was a feeling of disappointment in Baelfire’s stomach at the words Emma had uttered and he sighed quietly. “I’m really going to miss you…” he said slowly.  
“Me too…” Emma replied then she quickly pulled away from his side and sat up straight. “Maybe we could send each other messages,” she suggested. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sneak one of Mother’s birds without her knowing but there are gnomes all over the Enchanted Forest,” she rolled her eyes to emphasize the word ‘all’. “Maybe I could use one of th-” (Gnomes were stupid, obnoxious little creatures that ran about the Enchanted Forest memorizing, reciting, and delivering messages for people. It was practically their only skill*.)  
“No.” Baelfire quickly cut her off as he shook his head in protest.  
“Oh? But why not?” Emma was confused. “We could stay in touch that way and it might pass the time. We wouldn’t miss each other as much.”  
“I know that but…” he paused and swallowed before going on. “What if my papa got ahold of the message somehow instead of me? He’d get upset with me for lying to him but will take it out on you.” He looked at Emma and she noticed a twinge of fear flash his eyes. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Okay then,” she soothingly responded. “We don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. I understand completely.” She looked at him again and added with a grin, “Your father doesn’t scare me though.”  
Baelfire looked at her in surprise; no one had ever said that before. “He really doesn’t?” He asked in disbelief.  
Emma shook her head as she answered. “Mm mm.”  
Bae was shocked. “Well, he should scare you. I’ve seen him do away with countless people; I know what he’s capable of. If you upset him, he won’t care that you’re the princess.”  
“Pfft! Nonsense!” she swatted the air as she answered him. “What your father needs is someone to stand up to him, that’s all,” she straightened her posture and squared her shoulders. “Sometimes when you stand up to someone they end up respecting you. I’d stand up to him, and he can’t hurt me because hurting me would upset you and what parent wants to purposely hurt their own child?”  
“One who is absolutely convinced that he’s doing what’s best for his child - even though its not.” There was a twinge of hurt and annoyance in Baelfire’s tone and it pained Emma’s heart to hear him talk like that. She comfortingly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned in to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek; she didn’t really know what to say to him and she hoped her simple loving gesture would at least assure him that he wasn’t alone. She continued to hug him around his shoulders as she rested her cheek on his shoulder. She tried to think of something else to say, to change the subject to something happy and take his mind off what he had just said, but she couldn’t. Instead, she just sat there resting her cheek on his shoulder, staring at the pond in front of them. The two of them just sat there in silence as they peered into the pond. She inhaled as she took everything in. This was nice, the way they just sat together. Everyone she had ever known outside her family she felt she had to make conversation with, feeling extremely awkward when she would inevitably run out of things to converse about. But with Bae it was different; they didn’t have to always talk about something. They could sit in silence, like right now, and there would be no awkwardness whatsoever, just the two of them enjoying the other’s company. This was one of the reasons why she loved him and why she kept growing fonder and fonder of him; what made him an amazing friend. She was really going to miss him during her stay in Aurora’s kingdom; for now though she was just going to enjoy what would be her last night with Baelfire for a while. 

********

Three weeks later Charming and his children arrived safely into the next kingdom where they were warmly welcomed (however Emma would argue that her warm welcome was fraudulent) by Princess Aurora, her husband Prince Philip, and their two-year-old son, also named Philip. They were shown to the rooms they were to be staying in, Emma and Ava in one room and Charming and Robert in the other, then they were left to settle in. While Emma was unpacking Ava thought it a good idea to jump onto the bed. “Isn’t this exciting, Emma?” she excitedly exclaimed. “We get to sleep in the same bed! It’s going to be so much fun!”  
“Oh yeah…” she responded as she took a garment from her trunk. “Loads of fun. You’d better not kick me in your sleep or I’ll kick you right out of the bed so fast and so hard that you won’t know what hit you!”  
Ava’s face suddenly went from gleeful to annoyed. “You’re so rude!” She said annoyedly. “Why are you always in such a bad mood?”  
Emma rolled her eyes at her sister’s remark. “I’m not always in a bad mood, you’re just annoying. Now would you just be quiet and let me unpack in peace? Because that would be really nice.”  
Ava let herself slide off of the bed. “Fine. Be that way. I’m going to find Robert. Maybe he’ll actually want to have some fun.” She headed toward the door. “Because unlike you, he’s actually a FUN sibling.” Before she went out the door she turned around to stick her tongue out at her older sister. “How immature,” Emma said as she went back to unpacking her trunk. I’m a fun sister, she thought herself as she recalled the words her young sister had just said to her. Sure, she could probably be nicer to her sister but Ava was still so young and failed to understand why Emma so often felt the way she did; it was more than just ‘being in a bad mood’. Maybe someday she’d understand. 

Later that evening there was a fancy dinner held in honor of the Charmings’ visit and Emma took the seat next to her father, smoothing her skirt behind her as she gracefully sat down in her chair. She took care to use her finest royal manners while they all waited for the food to be brought to the table. She listened boredly as Aurora asked Charming how Snow was doing and how things were going in their kingdom. She swallowed down a yawn when she noticed that the servants were finally bringing the platters of food to the table. Her stomach began to growl at the sight and aroma of the food and she suddenly realized just how hungry she actually was. That is, until she noticed the main dish… a large roasted bird whose body horrifyingly resembled that of a swan. No, she knew it was a swan and it made her heart jump into her throat. The swan, her favorite animal apart from a horse, the symbol of hope and love, a beautiful graceful monogamous bird, slaughtered and roasted on a platter as if it were as meaningless as a goose. The thought angered her and made her heart break. She turned to subtly yank on Charming’s sleeve. “Daddy?” she tried to hide her horror and anger as she tried to get her father’s attention.  
“Yes?” Charming answered.  
Emma swallowed before going on. “I-Is that a… swan?” she asked even though she knew the answer.  
Charming looked at the roasted bird before answering his daughter. It was a swan. He knew Emma loved swans and that she wasn’t going to like his answer. He swallowed. “Uh… I think it is…” he finally answered, even if he was hesitant. He looked at Emma and he couldn’t tell if she was angry or horrified. Perhaps she was both.  
She clenched her teeth as she went on. “Daddy…” she tried to keep her voice low. “I loves swans. They - they mate for life. When one dies its mate grieves for it.”  
“And I understand that.” Charming interrupted her, hoping it would keep her calm. Sometimes Emma’s temper got the better of her - especially when it involved something she cared about, such as swans.  
She laid her fists on the table and shook her head angrily. “I’m not eating that,” she said forcefully.  
“Emma, Sweetheart… don’t make a scene. It’s okay -” he placed his hand on her back but his attempt to console her went wasted. She rose from her chair and looked at Aurora, not caring if the contempt she felt in her core showed in her eyes.  
“Is everything okay, Princess Emma?” Aurora asked, her overly sweet tone made Emma want to spit in her face.  
Emma tried to force down her angry feelings for her father’s sake (the last thing she ever wanted to do was disappoint or embarrass her father). She pointedly looked Aurora in her blue eyes and answered as politely as she possibly could. “Thank you, Princess for what looks like a wonderful supper but suddenly, I’m not feeling very well and would like to excuse myself and retire to my chambers. Is that alright by you?”  
“Why yes, of course,” she answered sweetly. “I hope you feel better.” she added as Emma walked off in the direction of the bed chambers.  
As Emma angrily marched to her chambers she couldn’t help but think of that poor swan and its possible even poorer mate. What kind of a person roasts and eats swans? She didn’t know people even did that. It angered her so much she wanted to cry (but of course she didn’t let herself cry). She walked into her room, readied herself for bed and let herself fall into the bed. She then thought of Bae and how much she missed him. He’d understand why this bothered her so much. She wished she could talk and vent to him; about the swan, about how exhausting it was being around people she didn’t much care for. She wished she could write to him to tell him how horrible her evening had gone. Then she wondered how he was doing right now. Did he miss her? Was he feeling lonely and depressed? She knew he probably was feeling all those things and that thought upset her even more. She wished she was back home in her own bed, her own castle, her own kingdom; it was so depressing here. As the wheels turned in her head, she closed her eyes and eventually drifted off into an exhausted slumber. As exhausted as she was though, she was awakened by the kiss that Charming left on her cheek after he had tucked Ava into bed beside her. Her eyes fluttered open and she rolled over, propping herself up on her elbow as she looked at her father. “Daddy?” she said sleepily.  
“You’re still up?” he asked Emma as he sat down on the edge of the bed.  
Emma lazily shook her head. “I woke up. Did you eat it? The poor roasted swan I mean…”  
Charming shook his head as he placed his hand on Emma’s head. “No. I politely refused it,” he answered. “I couldn’t knowing how much it upset you and honestly, between you and me… I don’t think swans would be very appetizing.” he added with a smile.  
Emma uttered a light giggle at his answer as she sat up. “I’m glad you didn’t eat it.”  
Charming pulled his daughter in for a for a hug. “Well how could I eat one of my daughter’s favorite animals, hm?” he squeezed Emma a little tighter and Emma wrapped her arms around Charming’s neck. “You gonna be be able to fall back to sleep alright?” he asked as he kissed her temple.  
Emma smiled and nodded. “Mhm…” she closed her eyes as she tightened her grip around Charming’s neck. “I love you, Daddy.” she removed her arms from around her father’s neck and layed back down.  
“And I love you too, Emma,” he replied as he tucked Emma back into the covers. “Sleep well.” He added as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. He stood up from the bed and walked out of Emma’s and Ava’s chambers, closing the giant door on his way out. Emma rolled over and closed her eyes, listening to her little sister’s rhythmic breathing until sleep found her again. 

*********

Two weeks later Emma was in one of the palace rooms playing with her brother and sister (like a good older sister**) when Aurora walked in holding her toddler son. “Hello, Princess Emma,” she said in her overly sweet way and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Having fun?” she asked.  
“Yes…” Emma answered as respectfully as her feelings of contempt would allow her; she hoped she was hiding her ill feelings well enough. She doesn’t have to call me ‘Princess’... she annoyedly thought to herself.  
“You’re sixteen…. Correct?” she asked Emma as she sat down next to her.  
Emma nervously tucked a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. Where was Aurora going with this? Was she going to make some high and mighty remark about her still playing games with her young siblings? If so she didn’t want to hear it; she was in no mood to be lectured by a princess who really knew nothing about her. She swallowed before answering. “Yes… I’ll be seventeen soon. Why?” she hoped she wouldn’t regret giving Aurora the opportunity to go on with this conversation.  
“I was just wondering.” she kissed her baby’s head. “I was actually your age when I met Philip,” she added with a smile that made Emma want to gag.  
“Really?” Emma tried her best to sound genuinely interested. If she was going to make some remark about her not being engaged to someone yet she was seriously going to lose it. She forced a smile as she clenched her jaw; she hoped Aurora didn’t sense her negative reaction. Why won’t she just go away? She silently asked herself as she attempted to look immersed in the game she was playing with Ava and Robert. She was trying so hard to mask her ill feelings toward this princess. Emma braced herself for the question she knew was coming and straightened her shoulders.  
“Do you have a special someone yet?” she asked.  
Emma almost choked (but she didn’t). How utterly intrusive! She thought. How was this ANY of Aurora’s business?? And why did she care so much? Was it such a horrible thing for a girl of almost 17 years to still be unmarried? What was her deal? “No…” she answered slowly. She actually lied; whether it was official or not, Baelfire was in fact her ‘special someone’. “Not as of yet.” She bit her bottom lip before taking a breath so as to force her annoyance back down. She cleared her throat. “My, um… my mother has set up a few suitors in the last year and half - none of which deemed right for me though.” She laughed to herself as she recalled the times she had all too happily turned each one down; her father smiling proudly as she did so. He didn’t care that she was still unmarried; why couldn’t everyone have his mentality about this topic?  
“So… no possible prince for the princess of the Enchanted Forest?”  
Oh my goodness! Emma thought to herself. What does this girl not understand about NO? Emma shook her head. It was getting harder for her to be nice… she inhaled before answering: “No.”  
“Do you ever… want to get married someday?” she asked. She would just not put this conversation to sleep, would she?  
With Aurora’s question though, Emma thought of Baelfire and how she felt about him. They had something special, a connection, a connection that just continued to grow as time went on and the more they got to know each other. Funny how she thought of him at the word ‘married’ or ‘marriage’, or even ‘special someone’. She opened her mouth to answer. “Of course I do! I never said I didn’t want to - I just don’t want to marry the wrong person.” she paused for a moment before going on. “W-What if my man isn’t a prince?” she said quietly.  
“Well… I mean, wouldn’t he have to be? You’re a princess after all… why would you WANT to marry anyone outside of royalty?”  
Emma felt the temperature of her blood rise at what Aurora had just said and she could take no more. “Why would I want to marry someone outside of royalty? Because sometimes a peasant boy - or commoner if that’s the term you choose - is more honest and noble than any so-called PRINCE!” she sternly stared Aurora in her light blue eyes. “Daddy was a peasant - a shepherd boy to be specific and-”  
Aurora placed her hand over her mouth; she had forgotten that Prince Charming had been a commoner before he met Snow. Crap! “Oh, Emma I’m… I’m sorry. I forgot that your father-”  
Emma quickly stood up from the floor and smoothed out her skirts. She couldn’t take this conversation any longer and refused to listen and converse any more. “Excuse me, Princess. It was a pleasure talking to you but if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go read in my chambers and write to my mother.” she angrily walked off to her chambers. Why did Aurora always feel the need to pry into her life? Why was she so concerned with her marital status (or lack of)? They weren’t related in any way; the only relation Aurora and her family was to her family was an alliance. They weren’t friends either so she had NO right to pry the way she was. Was she judging her in some way? The thought of that possibility sent a sick feeling into Emma’s stomach. She hated it here and just wanted to go home; away from Princess Intrusive, away from the treeless kingdom, away from judgemental eyes. She just felt so self-conscious here. She wanted to be back in her own kingdom, her own castle, with her horse and… Baelfire. “One more week,” she told herself as she walked into her chambers and closed the door. “Just one more week until we head home.”


	10. Chapter 10

~One week later~ (Continued from last chapter)

 

After what felt like an eternity Charming, Emma, Ava, and Robert arrived safely back home in the Enchanted Forest and Charming was greeted with an enormous embrace from Snow. “I missed you SO much!” she said as she threw her arms around her husband’s neck.   
“I missed you so much too!” he replied as he tightly embraced Snow, slightly lifting her off the ground as he did so but before he set her back on the ground he delivered a sweet but passionate kiss on her lips.  
“How was your trip?” Snow asked as Charming set her back on her feet.   
“Can I say that I’m glad it’s over?” he answered with a chuckle. Apparently the whole Charming family found Aurora and her family… exhausting.  
“Yes you can,” she then turned to her children. “Oh my goodness I’ve missed you three so much!!” she exclaimed as she embraced all three of the Charming children at once. “And oh my, Robert I think you’ve grown since you’ve been gone! I told you not to do that!” She gave him another hug as she mock scolded him. After they all had gotten their hugs, they made their way back into the castle.

Later that evening after everyone had finished supper and had wound down Emma and her siblings readied themselves for bed. Emma decided she wanted to soak in her tub to wash off the dust and grime from their trip. While she soaked and bathed Eleanor sat and worked on her embroidery in a chair in a corner in the room; also listening to her mistress tell and vent to her about her trip. She agreed that Princess Aurora seemed rather intrusive and very spoiled and if she had been completely honest, she was glad that she didn’t have to accompany Emma to that kingdom; she had dodged a catapult.   
After her bath Emma slipped into one of her more casual dresses; a purple loose-fitting yet figure-hugging dress with a belt that rested over her hips*.   
Eleanor looked at her suspiciously. “Emma…? What are you doing?” she laid her needlework on her lap.  
“It's been over a month since I saw him last, Eleanor!” There sounded to be a hint of desperation in her voice as she spoke.   
Eleanor shook her head disapprovingly. “You -” she forced down the urge to roll her eyes. She sighed before continuing. “Okay. Fine. You go out there, but what if he’s not there? Does he even know you’re back?” Why was she even wasting her breath? Emma was going to do what she wanted to do regardless of how many times Eleanor tried to talk her out of it.   
“Ugh, the whole kingdom knows we’re back so he too must know I’m back.” she rolled her eyes as she finished her reply.   
“Okay… but what about your parents? What if they hear you sneak out?” Even if it was pointless Eleanor would still try to persuade her young mistress to do the right thing.  
“Pfft!” Emma swatted the air. “Yeah right! They’re not gonna hear me sneak out, not tonight. TRUST me.” she made a look of disgust and shuddered at the thought of her parents… well, she wasn’t even going to go there. Emma then straightened her posture. “I’m going to go see him.” She added in a rather defiant tone and Eleanor uttered a silent sigh of defeat and frustration. Just like her father, Emma was stubborn; there was no point in trying to change her mind. “Fine.” Eleanor said briefly. “Just make sure you’re back before midnight.”  
A victorious smile (Eleanor would argue that it was smug instead) spread across Emma’s face. “I always am!” She then grabbed her cloak and was off; Eleanor only hoped that she would be safe and behave herself. 

“If he’s not there I’ll just turn back.” Emma quietly said to herself as she made her way to the pond they always sat near. She knew he went there often on his own before they met when life got stressful - at least that was what he told her once - so she hoped he was there tonight. “This is terrible, but I hope he had a rough day so he’ll be there.” she said aloud to herself.   
She walked a little farther and then she saw him; sitting on the log they always sat at, intent on what was probably a drawing in progress, his lantern pulled close. He looked so cute sitting there, she thought to herself as a smile spread across her face. “Bae!” she exclaimed in a loud whisper as she quickened her pace.   
Baelfire quickly popped his head up at the sound of his name. “Emma?” he put his things to the side before standing up to greet her.  
Emma flung herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and tightly squeezed him as an even bigger smile flashed across her face. Baelfire returned her tight embrace, slightly lifting her off the ground as he did so, and then planted a sweet kiss on her lips. “I’ve missed you SO much!” her voice was muffled under their kiss. She kissed him back and as she kissed him she let her fingers migrate up to his head to play with his perfect, finger-length gorgeous brown tousled hair. Oh how she had missed him.  
“I missed you too,” Baelfire replied as they finally broke away before they sat down. “More than you know.” He added and Emma noticed there was sadness in his tone. He quickly snapped out of it. “Anyway, how was your trip? I didn’t know you would even come out tonight - I feel bad. You shouldn’t have walked here by yourself in the dark -”  
“Baelfire!!” Emma interrupted. “Stop! Its fine! I am MORE than capable of handling myself and you know it.” she shook her head before going on. Sometimes he was too much of a gentleman… if that even made sense. “And as far as the trip goes… it was terrible, just like I thought it would be.” She uttered a sigh. “She even served a roasted swan for supper on the first night.” she added with clenched teeth.  
Baelfire shot her a puzzled look. “Who eats swans?”  
“Apparently Princess Aurora does.” Emma answered with a mocking expression.  
“That seems a little… inappropriate, doesn’t it? Or insulting maybe. Isn’t the swan one of your favorite animals?”  
“Yes!” Emma answered hotly. “And they mate for life which means a poor swan is grieving out there somewhere because of her!” she huffed out another sigh. “And that’s not all she did. She practically asked me why I’m almost 17 and still unmarried.” She felt her eyes start to well and tried to hold back the tears.  
“She did?” he was beginning to understand why Emma dreaded this trip. “Did you tell her that that’s none of her business?”  
“No…” she answered slowly. “I didn’t really say anything and then she assumed that I just don’t want to get married.” she looked at Bae and then looked at the ground. “And that’s not true…” she added quietly.  
“If I had been there I would’ve told her to back off - who does she think she is trying to tell you how to live your life?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled her side into his and smiled lightly.   
She looked up at Bae. “You’re sweet.”  
“Thanks, I try to be,” he answered with a light chuckle and his response made Emma giggle; he always made her feel better. “However I am sorry your trip was so terrible. You should’ve been able to enjoy yourself.”  
Emma snuggled deeper into his side and shrugged. “Eh, whatchya gonna do? I feel better now though after seeing and talking to you again.” she looked over at the other side of Baelfire and pulled away to sit up. “What were you drawing?” she asked curiously as she stole a look at the pile of drawing supplies at his side.  
“Oh, uh…” he leaned over to pick up his drawing things. “A swan…”  
Emma anxiously grabbed the leather-bound sketchbook from his hand. “Aw! Let me see!” she demanded. She looked at the drawing. “Oh wow… this is - why didn’t you ever tell me you could draw so well?”  
Baelfire blushed slightly at her compliment. The way she was always gushing over his talents made him feel so good. “You uh, you never asked, and… I don’t know…”  
“Well you’re an amazing artist!” she then noticed how many pages he had used. “May I look at the others?” she eagerly asked.  
“By all means,” he answered. “Go ahead!”  
Emma slowly flipped through the pages in his sketchbook, carefully studying and admiring the pictures on the pages; a tree, a lamb nestled in hay, a cottage (probably his), and what looked to be the Charming castle, among other things. Emma smiled at the castle. “You’re so good…” she said again; she was genuinely enthralled. “How did you ever learn to draw like this?” she continued to look at and admire his sketches.  
Baelfire shrugged. “My mother actually.”  
Emma broke her eyes away from his sketchbook to look at him. “She taught you?”  
“Hardly. I just inherited the gift from her - or so I’ve been told by Papa anyway. She died when I was three.”  
“Oh I’m - I’m so sorry,” she looked at him sympathetically and Baelfire shrugged casually.  
“Don’t be. I was really young and I don’t even remember her.”  
Well that’s sad, Emma thought to herself. She swallowed before asking. “How um, how did it happen?”  
Baelfire thought for a moment. “You know I… I don’t really know. Papa never told me and I’ve never asked. I just know pirates were involved.” There was spite in the way he had said the word ‘pirates’.  
“Of course pirates were involved,” she shook her head in disgust. “Murdering scum. Daddy says to never trust or turn your back to one.” she looked back down at the drawing before looking back at Baelfire.  
“And obviously he’s right.” he answered.  
“You should still ask him sometime though. It’s only fair, and, well… if I were you, I’d want to know. Ya know, what really happened and everything. As some sort of closure.” she smiled before directing her attention back to the sketchbook.  
He smiled lightly as he looked at Emma. “Maybe…” he answered as he watched her as she continued to look through his sketchbook.   
“I know I’ve probably said it too many times already but I can’t help it… these are SO good!” She went back to his drawing of the swan and smiled. “This one is my favorite though. You captured the grace and beauty of it so well…” she looked at Bae and smiled.  
Baelfire looked down at the drawing and then at Emma. “You know what? Why don’t you keep it?”   
“What?” she asked, her eyes wide in a form of disbelief.  
“The swan!” he clarified. “It’s your favorite animal and I want you to have it - maybe it’ll make up for your horrible trip.” he tore the page from the sketchbook and handed it to Emma.  
“Are you sure?” she asked. “But you must’ve worked so long and hard on it -”  
“It’s okay!” he interrupted with a smile and an almost-laugh. “I WANT you to have it, Em!! Besides, I draw SO many things that I won’t even notice this one missing in about five minutes. And you love swans so you’re going to appreciate it more than anyone else would.”  
Emma was so touched. She took the drawing from his hand and then flung her arms around his neck and placed a grateful and affectionate kiss on his cheek. “Thank you SO much, Bae! I LOVE it!!” she tightened her grip around his neck. “And I love YOU…”   
“I love you too.” he replied as he returned her embrace. He then pulled away just enough so that he could kiss her lips; as he did so, he subconsciously let his hands run through Emma’s hair which caused her to shudder slightly. She liked it, and found herself wanting to get closer to him but she didn’t. Instead she just returned his kiss, probably a little too enthusiastically being that Baelfire quickly and suddenly pulled away, looking a little embarrassed.  
Emma was confused. “You...okay?” she asked. He didn’t usually pull away from her like that. This is weird.   
“Yeah,” he answered; he looked like he was trying to regain his composure or something, and even though it was dark she could tell that his cheeks were pink. He cleared his throat before continuing. “That was just… that was some kiss…” he smiled nervously and Emma giggled.  
“Well, I … I am the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.” she blushed a little as she added, “I did learn from the best and it's... probably in my blood.” she grinned and shrugged casually and Bae smiled at her response. 

It was near 11:30 when Emma finally decided it was time for her to head back home and as always, Baelfire walked her to where he always did, just outside the forest. This time though, they were a little hesitant to part ways; it was getting harder and harder for them to leave each other. But they did and as per usual he watched to make sure she made it safely through the castle gates. She did and then that was his cue to head home himself. When she made it back to her room she noticed that her waiting lady was still in her room. She sighed as she carefully placed Baelfire’s drawing on her desk. “What do you do? Just perch yourself on my bed until I get back?” she asked annoyedly. She noticed Eleanor shooting her an unamused look. “What?” she threw up her arms. “Stop looking at me like that.”  
Eleanor placed her hands on her hips. “Cutting it rather close, aren’t you?” she pointedly asked.  
“Ugh! Relax! Its before midnight!” she pointed out in a huff.  
“Barely.”  
Emma rolled her eyes. “It counts. Anyway, look what he gave to me!” she excitedly grabbed her drawing from the desk and held it up in front of Eleanor. “Isn’t it beautiful?”  
Eleanor studied the drawing. “Wow. That IS good.” She had to admit the boy had talent.  
Emma smiled excitedly. “Isn’t it?! I had no idea he could draw!” she looked down at the swan on the paper. “He let me look through his sketchbook…” she held the drawing to her chest and turned her head to gaze out her window. “I… I really do love him…” she looked back at Eleanor, who was studying her carefully. “I don’t think he really wanted me to leave tonight,” she uttered a sad-sounding sigh. “I didn’t want to leave him either…”   
“Emma…?” She looked Emma in the eyes and asked in a tone serious as death. “Are - are you and Baelfire having - well, developing, desires?”   
Emma’s head shot up. “What?? No of… of course not.” she answered quickly and feeling a little embarrassed. She was actually lying… something was definitely sparking between the two of them. When he had kissed and hugged her earlier she didn’t really want him to stop. In fact, she… she quickly forced the thought from her mind; it was wrong for a young unmarried woman such as herself to even be thinking such thoughts anyway. She looked at Eleanor and hoped she believed her answer. She didn’t. Unfortunately she saw right through her cover-up; she was SO annoying in that way.  
“Emma! You NEED to tell your parents about the two of you… how you feel and everything before you two do something you regret!”   
“I can’t tell them!” she exclaimed.   
“Oh? And why not?” she placed her hands on her hips.  
There was a sudden look of panic in Emma’s green eyes. “Because if I do, I’m going to have to explain how we met! I was sneaking out, remember? They’re not going to like that! And then what if they get all upset because of who he’s related to? What if they say no and say we can’t ever see each other again because of it? I love him, Eleanor!! And he loves me! We - we understand each other and he’s…” she swallowed before going on. “He’s the man I want to marry.” Saying that out loud sounded weird and surreal but she meant it; she wanted to marry him, spend the rest of her life with him, to have a family with him. She was sure now. She looked at Eleanor again and saw that she was staring at her, her eyes wide. Understandable, Emma thought. She couldn’t believe she said all that either.  
“Well if you want to marry him then you definitely should tell your parents.”   
Emma was getting real tired of her nagging. “I’ll tell them when I tell them, okay?” she was starting to get really agitated.  
“And that will be when?”   
Emma let out an exasperated sigh. “Would you just put this topic to sleep please?” She walked over to her desk where she laid her swan drawing down. “Now, instead of bossing me around do you think you could actually do your job and help me out of this dress?”  
Eleanor made her way over to Emma and began helping her get into her nightclothes. As she helped her she thought about what Emma had said. She hesitated before she spoke: “About what you said… can- can you really see yourself with him?”   
“Yes,”   
“For the rest of your life…?”  
“Yes. We both really understand each other and I can be myself around him. I’m not ‘Princess Emma’ around him; he sees me for who I am, just Emma… a normal girl. And he makes me smile and laugh, and feel kinda… kinda confident,” she straightened her posture. “I just, I don’t know… he makes me feel so happy. We have a very special connection.”  
Eleanor was silent as she pondered what Emma had just told her. He did seem to make her happy. She just wished that Emma saw the importance of telling her parents and the inevitable danger of not telling them. She shook her head and inhaled silently as she tied the ties at the back of Emma’s nightgown. “That was really nice of him to give you that drawing.” she said as she quickly patted her on her shoulder, signaling to Emma that she was done and free to go.  
Emma turned to head to her bed. “Yeah it was,” she yawned as she crawled into bed and under her covers. “He’s just so sweet. I know it wasn’t really a big deal but it was to me…”  
“No you’re right, it was really sweet of him to do that. And it is really, really good. He seems like a really sweet boy.” she started to make her way out of Emma’s room. “Just… if you’re not going to tell your parents just please be careful, okay?”  
Emma rolled her eyes; there she went again, being her usual bossy overprotective self and going all mother-hen on her - so annoying. “I will, don’t worry.” she silently sighed in annoyance before she blew out her lantern.  
“You need anything before I leave?”  
“Um, nope. I’m good,” she yawned again as she snuggled into her pillow and pulled her blankets up to her chin. “Goodnight, Eleanor.”   
“Goodnight.” She replied as she went out of her room and shut her door.  
After her waiting lady left her room she looked out in the direction of her window and thought of Baelfire and what had been going through her mind while she was with him. Her thoughts and feelings left her feeling both excited and scared; excited that she was now in love with a special young man but scared because she knew she would have to tell her parents about him. But they’re just going to get upset and tell us that we can’t see each other anymore… As she lay there trying to fall asleep she thought about all the potential disasters that could happen if she told her parents, moreso her father, about them. 

********

It had been a little over a week before Emma and Baelfire were able to see each other again; those darn royal duties didn’t leave her much freetime, much to her annoyance and frustration. After how the last few days had gone, she was glad to finally be able to sneak out and forget who she was for a bit. As glad as she was to get out though, what she was really most excited about was seeing Baelfire again. It had felt like so much longer than only a week.   
She found him where she usually did, sitting on a fallen log near the pond, leaning over what was more than likely his sketchbook, working on another drawing. She then made a sound and his head popped up and when he saw that it was Emma, he quickly stood up to greet her.   
She ran up to wrap her arms around his neck. “I missed you!” she said before leaving a kiss on his lips.   
He returned her kiss. “I’ve missed you too but why don’t you ever send word that you’re coming?” he gently brushed a strand of her hair away from her face.  
“Why should I?” she backed away to place her hands on her hips.  
“Why? Because I don’t like you walking out here by yourself at night.” It was true; he’d feel incredibly terrible and greatly responsible if something were ever to happen to the princess while on her way to see him.   
A fierce gleam suddenly appeared in her eye as she stared at Bae. “Baelfire…” she started cooly. “I appreciate your chivalry, I really do. In fact, I admire that in a man but…” she straightened her posture before continuing. “I was trained in both the sword and in defense strategies by the finest in the realm, my father, or the king, as you know him.” she proudly cocked her head. “So, please, for the one-hundredth time, believe you me when I say that I KNOW how to handle myself.”   
“Right,” he answered as he leaned in to kiss her again.   
She shoved him away, “And another thing,” she placed her fists on her hips. “I can’t send you any word, not after that stink you put up about me offering to write to you while I was away.”   
“I wouldn’t say I ‘put up a stink’...” he reached for Emma’s wrists, gently pulled them away from her hips, then held them for a moment.  
“Oh?” She allowed him to hold onto her wrists; truth be told, she was rather enjoying the sensation of his large work-worn hands gently gripping her soft and dainty wrists. “Then what would you have called it then?”  
“I don’t know but definitely not that…” still holding her wrists, he lifted them and held her arms out to the side, then he let them go and placed his hands gently on her hips and attempted to pull her back in to him. Emma shook her head in mock annoyance, smiled, and allowed him to pull her in close. She raised her arms and rested them on his shoulder, crossing her wrists behind his head; she then sweetly kissed him and suddenly noticed that both their fronts were touching. She liked how it felt. It felt… well, she didn’t really know how to explain how this felt but what she did know that it was definitely a GOOD feeling; being this close to him made her feel warm, whole, made her feel safe, and like she could take on the entire world if she had to; it also made her feel, well… something else… something she wasn’t very familiar with. She didn’t really know how to explain that either other than, she wanted to get closer. Alot closer, and that thought slightly scared her. She wondered if Bae was feeling the same thing… she quickly pushed the improper thoughts out of her mind and pulled away from Baelfire’s embrace, faintly blushing as she did so.   
“Anyway…” she began as she cleared her throat and sat down. “How was your week?”  
Baelfire rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Same old same old,” he looked down at his boots then back up at Emma. “Sheep duties, roof-thatching, making supper every other night…” he paused a moment before continuing. “Arguments with Papa. you know, all that good stuff.” He forced a smile and Emma couldn’t help but giggle. Bae shook his head and lightly laughed too; there was something about her laugh/giggle that made him want to laugh; it was absolutely adorable and totally contagious; he shrugged with a smile before adding, “A day in the life of a peasant boy.”  
Emma’s giggles erupted into full-fledged laughter. He didn’t know why she had found his answer and remarks so humorous but for some reason she did and that was okay; it made her happy and seeing Emma happy made him happy. However, he still wasn’t understanding how she found it THAT funny. “Did I, uh… miss something?” there was confusion on his face and Emma continued to laugh.   
Emma shook her head in response as she tried to regain herself. “No,” she tried to catch her breath. “You just… you make me happy…” she finally stopped laughing and was now looking at him with a smile on her face, an amorous sparkle lighting up her what he thought to be perfectly spaced green eyes. Goodness how stunning she is, he thought to himself. He cleared his throat before beginning: “Can I… ask you a question?” he asked nervously.  
At his question Emma’s expression became serious. “Yeah…” she answered. “What is it?” she noticed that he was suddenly acting a bit nervous. What could he be wanting to ask? She wondered.   
He lowered his head and swallowed nervously before he continued: “Have you - have you ever thought about…” he trailed off again and Emma could see that the poor boy was nervous.   
“Thought about what?” she asked as she gently placed her hand on top of his as a gesture of encouragement.   
Her gesture seemed to give him the confidence he needed to go on; he sighed as he attempted to muster up his courage. “Well,” he paused again and Emma didn’t know how much more suspense she could take. JUST COME OUT WITH ALREADY, BAE! She anxiously thought to herself; she was beginning to wonder if he was going to spill something she didn’t want to hear… and it was seriously scaring her. She squeezed his hand and begged with her eyes for him to go on. “Well?” She vocally urged him to go on this time.  
He decided to just say it and hope for the best. “M-marriage,” he stammered. “Have you ever thought about marriage?” he was relieved he finally asked but as he studied Emma’s expression his feeling of relief quickly turned to anxiety; he desperately hoped he didn’t just ruin what they had. He looked down at his lap and then cast Emma a nervous sideways glance.  
Emma was taken aback. Did he, in his own shy little way, just propose to her? Truth was, she kinda wished he did… she had been thinking of marriage rather often as of late - more specifically, a marriage with him. But it also scared her; marriage is a lifelong commitment - but she did love him- more than anything - and she could genuinely see herself with him for the rest of her life, she was positive now, but if they were extremely serious now she’d have to tell her parents… and that is what scared her the most. She inhaled slowly: “Marriage?” she repeated. ‘As in… you and me?” she gestured to him and herself with her finger.   
Baelfire’s throat went dry and he silently cursed himself. So she doesn’t feel the same way I do, he sadly thought to himself; what did he expect anyway? She was a princess for goodness’ sake, the heir to the throne nonetheless, and he was nothing but a lowly peasant boy with absolutely nothing to offer her, of course she didn’t want to pursue marriage. He sighed before finally answering, “Well… yeah…” he tried to hide the sadness and disappointment in his voice as he answered Emma.  
Emma noticed the look of sadness in his eyes and immediately felt terrible for letting him think she thought marriage was a bad idea. “Yes!” She quickly blurted out. “In fact, I have been thinking about marriage - alot, actually,” she paused for a moment and Baelfire’s expression changed to a mixture of hope, relief, and excitement. She continued: “At night before I fall asleep, I imagine what our lives would be like together…” she trailed off and scooched closer so that her side was snuggled into his. “I take it you have too then?”   
“Yes. I love you, Em,” he answered as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “Alot and I do want to spend the rest of my life with you; you make me feel something that I’ve never felt about anyone else before. You… you make me feel, whole. Like I have an actual purpose…” he awkwardly looked down at his lap again and trailed off. Emma was greatly touched by his words. She leaned a little forward and placed her hand on his cheek, caressing his face, she lightly kissed his lips, their lips clinging to one another’s for a moment before they broke away. She smiled and snuggled into him again, “And you make me feel the same way,” she added. “With you I can be myself and… and you make me feel so… confident. Like I could…” she paused and giggled softly before continuing. “Don’t laugh but being around - being with you, makes me feel like I can take on… the world or something.” Emma could feel Baelfire smiling at what she had just said and she shook her head as she then felt him plant another kiss on her temple, causing her to utter a blissful sigh. She snuggled deeper into his side and rested her cheek against his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of being close to him. She then started to wonder… No! She quickly forced away the improper thought and sat up so that she wasn’t resting against him anymore. Another thought suddenly struck her. “Since we’re talking about and seriously considering marriage now,” she started. “And because I’m curious…” she blushed a little before she continued. “How many children do you, you know… imagine us having?”   
Baelfire stared at her for a moment; he had never really thought about that before. He shrugged, “I - I really don’t know...I guess however many you want to have,” he answered with a shy smile. “So… how many do you plan on having?”   
Emma thought for a moment. “Hmm…” she brought her finger to her lip as she thought. “I guess no less than three and no more than four… does that sound like a reasonable number to you?” she asked with a hopeful and curious smile but then switched to a serious expression. “But how will this work?”  
Baelfire thought for a moment; she had a point… if she had been just a regular girl he would just offer up the possibility of elopement. But alas, Emma was not a regular girl; she was a princess, the heir to the throne nonetheless. There were countless reasons as to why he couldn’t just suggest that; the number one reason being that, in order to run off and get married, she’d have to leave her family and he didn’t want that for her. But the thought was incredibly tempting… He was silent as he thought before Emma broke the silence:  
“We could run off!” she blurted out excitedly as she placed her hand on his arm. “To another kingdom where we won’t be recognized; we can live in a cottage in the countryside and raise our children there! No crowns, no high expectations, no familial reputations. Just you and me…” she leaned closer toward him and looked in his eyes. “We can start whole new lives….”  
The whole idea sounded incredible and exciting… but then reality sunk in. “I wish we could,” he responded. “But what about your parents and your siblings?”  
Emma shrugged. “I mean, they’d miss me at first but they’d get over it. And Ava would be happy because then she’d be the new heir. Although…” she trailed off for a moment and sighed as she looked back down at her lap. “I’d miss exercising my sword skills with Daddy…” she also thought about the children factor; someday she and Baelfire would have babies together and it would break her mother’s heart if she wasn’t ever able to meet her own grandchildren or be in their lives. Suddenly, the idea that excited Emma just moments ago was now beginning to break her heart. She couldn’t just run off; if she did her parents would be utterly crushed. She sighed and looked back up at Baelfire. “They’d be heartbroken…” she slowly admitted before she lowered her head and rested her temple on his shoulder. “I guess we can’t run off then, can we?”  
“I really wish we could though…” he answered.  
“I know. We would never have to sneak out to see each other and be afraid of our parents finding out or what they’d say. But I guess for now we’ll just continue to do what we’re doing.” she sighed and thought to herself: If only I weren’t a princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after months of writer's block and procrastination I FINALLY updated!! Yay me!! I apologize for the long wait and for how long this chapter is (PLEASE BEAR WITH ME!!) Anyway, thank you again for taking the time out of your day to read this and much love to you all! Have a blessed day!! NOW I CAN FINALLY MOVE ON TO THE PRESENT-DAY CHAPTER!!!!


	11. Chapter XI

~Present Day~

The moment Bae had settled in, gotten used to things and to where things were Charming had kept him extremely busy in learning how to ‘be a royal’, as he liked to put it. The first thing that had to be done, Charming said, was to get rid of that “awful mop he called hair” because, “a ragamuffin appearance like that will greatly insult any princess”. They both had rolled their eyes at that - or at least Emma did… Baelfire rolled his eyes mentally in order to be respectful and to keep himself from getting into any more trouble. But Emma actually seemed more upset about him having to cut his hair than he did:   
“Your hair…” she said mournfully after Baelfire had sought her out to show her his new look.   
“I know…” he responded. “It’s definitely going to take some getting used to…”  
Emma almost looked like she was going to cry as she reached up to touch his significantly shorter hair. It wasn’t finger-length anymore… “It’s so short…” she said slowly and sadly.  
“You don’t like it?” there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.  
“No, it’s - it’s not that, it's just…” she touched his hair again as she trailed off for a moment. She looked at his eyes again and made an almost pout face before continuing, “Well… what am I supposed to run my fingers through now? And, what am supposed to grab when things…” she shyly looked down for a brief second and looked around to make sure no one was around before she proceeded, “When things… you know… intensify…?” she flirtatiously twirled the strings at the neck of his shirt.  
“Ohh…” he finally caught her implication and grinned sheepishly as he played with one of her blonde curls before bending to gently kiss her. “You’ll have to find something else to grab then…” Emma giggled at his response and he kissed her again as he ran his hand slowly down her arm, he was going to drag it to her stomach when they suddenly heard someone clear their throat behind them.  
“I thought you two had things to do.” It was Charming. Surprise surprise.  
Emma and Baelfire quickly pulled away from each other and looked at Charming with guilty expressions. Charming delivered a cold hard stare to Baelfire then switched his glance to Emma. “I believe your mother is looking for you, Young Lady…” Emma nodded and shot Bae a quick look of support before she headed off to find Snow. Charming resumed his cold hard stare. “And because you can’t seem to keep your hands to yourself these days…” he gestured toward the castle exit. “I have an even bigger list of things for you to do this afternoon.” 

After a few days and with much discussion and contemplation, Snow and Charming decided that Emma and Baelfire would wed in 6 weeks’ time. They would marry privately and six weeks would give them (mostly) enough time to prepare but would also be soon enough before Emma would start showing. Or, at least that’s what they hoped… most first-time pregnant girls won’t start showing until they’re well into their second trimester and Snow and Charming only hoped that Emma would be the same way. After they informed the young couple on how things would go, they were then instructed not to see each other without a chaperone until after their wedding. That annoyed Emma… she didn’t see the point, the damage had already been done. What more could they do? It’s not like a girl can get pregnant twice. She actually dared to say that out loud the following evening and her parents seemed almost horrified. Did she not pay attention during all the times they had strictly and explicitly explained how such sexual intimacy was sacred and to only be done under the cover of marriage because that is how God intended it? Her question led to another lecture… much to her dismay. She wanted to argue that she justified it because she knew he was the one she would marry but decided against it; she knew her parents were right and that what she did was wrong… which was why the conversation was making her so mad so she just decided to be quiet. As usual, her parents were right. She sighed heavily as she got up and with great annoyance exited her parents’ bedchamber.   
She would’ve gone straight to bed but she suddenly realized that she was hungry - a rare occurrence these days it seemed, with the morning sickness and all - and decided to head down to the kitchen to see if she could find anything that appealed to her while she still felt human.  
Apparently she wasn’t the only one who was feeling hungry because as soon as she entered the kitchen, there was Baelfire. He jumped slightly when she came in and looked like he was in trouble until he saw that it was only Emma. “Oh, it's just you,” he uttered a subtle sigh of relief.   
“No one’s going to care if you get food late in the night,” she answered matter-of-factly as she stepped closer to him. “I miss you…”   
“I miss you too.”  
She brought her hand up to lovingly stroke his face. “I feel like we see even less of each other now that we’re under the same roof.”  
“I know…” he lovingly played with her flaxen curls as he responded.  
“And it’s all because of my father…” her face contorted into a scowl. “I mean, what else does he think we can do? We’re already expecting a baby.”  
“I think it’s just the idea that we’re not married…”  
She rolled her eyes: “Well that shouldn’t mean that we can’t see each other at all!” she let out a sigh of frustration and grasped the collar of his shirt.   
“He didn’t say that we couldn’t see each other at all… we just can’t see each other without a chaperone.”  
Emma giggled wickedly as she pressed her chest into his. “You mean like we’re doing now…?”  
Baelfire pulled her in a little closer and uttered a slight chuckle that sounded equally as wicked. “Yeah…,” he mischievously raised his eyebrows. “Look at us already violating your father’s boundaries…”  
“Shh…” Emma grinned as she placed her index finger on his lips. “He might hear you; he has ears everywhere, I swear it. And we’re not violating anything. We both came down here with innocent intentions, to get something to eat. He can’t punish us for that - but let’s just hope he doesn’t walk in and see us this close…”   
“Six more weeks…” he let his hand drag slowly down from her hair to her shoulder. “Six more weeks and we won’t have to tiptoe around your father ever again…” There was a mischievous and flirtatious gleam in his eye as he said that and he bent to kiss her.  
“I know and I can’t wait.” She smiled blissfully under his kiss and let him pull her body even closer into his; she missed being close to him, it was such a special feeling, she loved it and longed for it. Suddenly, her stomach growled and she pulled away, finally remembering the original reason she had come down to the kitchen to begin with. Right, food. “Here,” she turned around to head where the food was stored. “I’ll find us something to eat.”   
“No no,” he quickly protested. “I’ll get it! You sit down.” Bae had only been at the castle barely over a week yet he already knew exactly where all the food was kept and stored and Emma found that rather amusing; the boy did love his food.   
“I don’t mind…”   
“Yeah but -” Concern suddenly filled his eyes and Emma immediately knew why. She rolled her eyes and sighed:  
“Oh for mercy’s sake, Baelfire! I’m just with child; I’m not DYING!” she threw her arms up in exasperation and rolled her eyes again.   
Baelfire looked a little shocked by her sudden outburst. “Well… I know that, I just -”  
“Alright, fine.” She gracefully sat down in the chair in the corner and dramatically gestured to where the food was kept. “By all means.”   
As she watched him move from where she was sitting to where the food was located, she suddenly noticed that Baelfire’s movements seemed rather stiff - incredibly stiff, actually. She studied him for a moment. “Bae?” her snarky tone from a moment ago was now suddenly replaced with concern. “Are you okay?”  
“Of course,” he answered passively. “Now is there anything you’re feeling like in particular? Because growing up as a forest boy, I do know how to cook - rather well too, if I do say so myself.” He was trying to change the topic and it was beginning to irritate Emma.   
“You’re walking funny…” she pointed out.  
Baelfire nervously laughed off her observation. “Uh, no I’m not…”  
Emma shook her head. “Yeah you are.” she motioned to him to come over. “Come here.”   
He slowly and tentatively walked over to her and Emma shook her head in sympathy. “You are too…” she held her hand out to him, he took it and she pulled him a little closer. “Look at you… you can barely move.” she rose from her chair and looked him in his eyes, her expression filled with concern as she placed her hand on his jaw.  
“It's… really not that bad,” he answered with a slight shrug.  
“Nonsense!” she huffed as she moved around behind him and started to massage and rub his shoulders. “You poor thing… you’re so stiff.” She moved her fingers upwards and began massaging his neck. She shook her head in contempt. “What is my father doing to you? Working you to death?” she rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what he’s trying to prove right now…”   
“Really, Em it’s nothing…” It sort of wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to let Emma know that. He was used to doing hard and honest farm work all his life, but this ‘weilding a sword’ business that the king was trying to teach him (because apparently in order to be a royal you had to know how to do and use all these things)… that was a whole different animal; apparently it uses muscles a person didn’t even know existed; it was exerting and exhausting and caused his entire upper body to rebel against him. He was starting to wonder if this was perhaps one of the consequences for his actions. If it was, well… at least this one was temporary…  
“Uh huh,” she sarcastically replied. “He’s trying to teach you how to swordfight, isn’t he?”  
“Amongst everything else -”   
“And he’s just throwing you into it without any sort of fundamental training?” she shook her head in disapproval; her temper began to rise and Baelfire could feel that her mood was affecting her grip, it was getting stronger. He wasn’t complaining though, her massage skills were greatly relieving his stiffness. Before he even opened his mouth to answer though, Emma began to speak again. “He’s being such a jerk! Doesn’t he know that you need time to recover?” She was already annoyed with her father and this bit of information was only intensifying her feelings. He winced and groaned slightly as her hands worked a knot out of his shoulder blade - her annoyance was still being reflected on her grip (goodness the girl was strong!) and at the moment Bae couldn’t decide if it felt good or bad. “How does this feel?” she finally asked.  
“Uh, good,” he answered. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this sore in my life though. Who knew you used such muscles when handling a sword. He also said I have an even bigger day ahead of me tomorrow…”  
“What?” she whined in disbelief then shook her head. “Ugh, he’s being such a jerk. Do you know what you need?”   
“To be put out of my misery?” he stiffly twisted around to look at Emma.  
“You stay here; I’ll be right back.” Ignoring his sarcasm, she patted his shoulder and left a quick kiss on his cheek before she walked off in the opposite direction and exited the kitchen. It seemed like forever since she left and he was starting to feel a little funny waiting for her like he was; after what felt like forever (it was only a half hour) he finally heard movement outside the kitchen. It sounded like something large was being dragged across the floor, followed by little grunts. Baelfire then peeked around the corner and saw Emma dragging what appeared to be a tub. “Whoah, hey,” he rushed up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.. “Should you - do you want me to get that?”  
She straightened before she answered him. “No, no! Thank you, but I’m good.”she then went back to dragging the tub into the kitchen.  
Baelfire wasn’t convinced. “B-but are you sure you should be… doing that?”  
Emma threw her arms up in protest and stopped to catch her breath. “It’s fine! I’m not lifting it, just dragging it - Mother gave me a whole list of things she advises that I don’t do; and this, wasn’t on the list.” she wiped her hair from her face.  
“I know… but it’s awful heavy and -”  
“Bae!” she quickly interrupted. “It’s FINE. I want to do this; please just let me take care of you for a change, okay?” her eyes sparkled from the candle light as she looked up at him before she bent to pull the tub to exactly where she wanted it. “There.” She then smiled proudly as she looked from Bae to the tub.  
Baelfire peered into the tub and seemed a little alarmed at what he saw. “I-is that… ice?”  
Emma nodded enthusiastically. “Mhm! Trust me, this will make you feel so much better.”  
Baelfire looked at her slightly dumbfounded. “And you want me to get in there? With the ice?” he pointed to the tub and Emma nodded once again. “Yeah…” she answered with a giggle. “That’s kind of the point.”  
Oh this idea of hers just kept on getting better and better. Who ever heard of taking an ice cold bath anyway? The thought was preposterous and absolutely insane. He swallowed before going on. “But it’s… its January, and… here?” he looked shyly around the premises. “In the… the kitchen?”  
Emma giggled again. “The kitchen is the warmest place in the castle, and you don’t have to take your clothes off, Silly!” She shook her head and laughed again. “You can hop in just as you are! And you only have to stay in there for a few minutes - now would you just trust me and get in already for mercy’s sake?”  
Baelfire looked down into the tub then back at Emma and swallowed before he answered. “O...kay if - if you’re sure this will help.”  
“I am sure; you’ll feel so much better afterwards!” she nodded and encouraged him to step in, which he finally did, very tentatively.   
As he lowered himself into the tub he gasped and uttered a small hiccup-like sound as the ice-cold water came into contact with his body, causing Emma to giggle lightly; that was a sound she hadn’t heard from him yet and she honestly found it kinda cute. After he was settled in she kneeled down and resumed kneading his shoulders. He relaxed a little (as much as he could while sitting in freezing water, anyway) and opened his mouth to speak. “I uh, think your father hates me…”   
“Yeah… he does for now, but he’ll have to get over it being that you’re becoming his son-in-law in a few weeks,” Emma answered.   
“You think he will?” he twisted his neck so he could somewhat face Emma. “Get over hating me?”  
“Well he’d better!” there was a hint of fire in her tone. “Otherwise I’m abdicating my line to the throne.”  
“Wait…” Did he just hear her correctly? “For real?”  
“Mhm.” she nodded fiercely. “If Daddy doesn’t learn to accept you then absolutely; in a heartbeat.”  
“But - wouldn’t you miss -”  
“I didn’t say I’d never see them again!” she interrupted him before he could finish his sentence and she lightly punched his shoulder blade. “I’d only be giving up the throne - not abandoning them! I’d still visit them; I just wouldn’t want anything to do with the crown.” she shrugged as the words left her mouth.  
“Oh.”   
“Yeah…” she responded slowly and then a thought suddenly struck her. “Speaking of fathers though…”  
Oh no… Baelfire rolled his eyes; he knew exactly where she was going with those words and he did not want to go there - at least not right now. He inhaled to brace himself for the question he knew she’d ask…  
“What about yours?” And there it was; the question he did not feel like answering. “Have you went back to talk to him yet?”   
Baelfire rolled his eyes. “He told me to get out. Simple as that. And to answer your question, no. I haven’t talked to him; nor do I want to.”  
“Okay, for one thing, you should go talk to him, and second, that’s not fair and you shouldn’t have that attitude…” she replied. “He was mad; you can’t take seriously what someone says when they’re upset.”  
Baelfire uttered a scoffing sound. “Yes I can. Because he meant it.”  
“Baelfire -”  
“What??” He was suddenly short with her, and had Emma slightly taken aback. Okay, she thought. So he probably would prefer me to just listen. She decided to be quiet and then he continued: “You… you didn’t see the look he gave me…”  
He was right, she didn’t see it, but she didn’t have to to know what look he was talking about; she knew because she saw the same look in her own father’s eyes: the look of disappointment and betrayal; the look of hurt. “No, I didn’t… but I can imagine it though.” she answered slowly and sadly before continuing again, “It hurts, doesn’t it? Seeing your parents so disappointed in you?”  
Baelfire shrugged in response. “Do you regret anything though?”  
“About us? No.” Emma quickly replied as she shook her head. “No - but I do however kinda wish I had told at least told Mother about you - about us - sooner…” she paused to briefly look down at her still-rather-flat belly. “If I did we could’ve already been married by now and we wouldn’t have to… cover up our mistake.”   
“Yeah…” he let out a slow and slightly quivering breath as he thought about what Emma had said. His mind then went back to how cold he was getting; he had had enough of this freezing water nonsense. “Okay,” he said as he shifted his weight in the tub. “I’ve had enough - I can’t take this freezing nonsense any longer.”  
As he stepped out of the tub Emma quickly grabbed a sheet for him dry off with (as well as he could anyway); she handed it to him and he took it, muttering what was probably some [Medieval] curse word. Emma couldn’t hear exactly what it was but she knew it wasn’t kind. “If my mother hears you talk like that you’re going to be very sorry you ever said anything inappropriate like that,” she warned. “She’ll snap you out of that habit faster than you can think.”   
“Sorry,” he apologized as he continued to dry off. “I’ll try to remember that.” there was sarcasm in his tone and Emma shook her head; it was only a matter of time before he learned what the queen thought of cursing.   
“How’s your stiffness?” she asked, arms crossing just below her bosom.   
“I’ll let you know once the numbness and trembling wears off.” More sarcasm. “This is pointless…” his voice quivered slightly from the cold, making Emma feel bad. Perhaps this was a bad idea; he was right… it was winter and here she made him sit in a tub of freezing water of all things. “I’ll be right back!” As quickly as she had left, she came back holding a fur blanket. “Here.” she handed him the blanket and stepped back. “Sorry…” she said slowly. “I thought it would help you, not make you more uncomfortable -”  
“It’s fine,” he interrupted. “You were only trying to help.” He inhaled and stepped forward. “I should probably get to bed… these trousers aren’t going to dry while standing in them and I’ll only get colder.” He cast Emma a disappointed expression. “So I guess this is good night…” he began to lean in to kiss her when she stopped him:  
“There’s a fire in my chamber,” she blurted out. “You can warm up next to it! And you can undress freely without any worries of one of the servants possibly seeing anything; I have more blankets too! Fur ones.” she stopped to take a brief breath. “We won’t do anything that’s improper so it’s not wrong… right? And right now Daddy’s sleeping so he won’t know.” she placed her palms against his chest as she studied his hazel eyes and she could tell that he was contemplating on what to do… heed Emma’s wishes and possibly anger the king? Or obey the king’s orders and upset Emma? He looked at Emma’s emerald eyes as he thought on what to do… there was something in her eye that he couldn’t place. Was it fear? Fear of what was to come? Whatever it was, he could see that she didn’t want to be alone at the moment. And at that, he heeded her. “Okay,” he gave in, and she grabbed his arm and pulled him upstairs to her chambers.

Once they were upstairs Emma (unlike most princesses) stoked the fire, gathered some extra blankets from her bed, and set a little spot on the floor for them to sit on in front of the hearth. While she did that, Baelfire undressed from his wet clothes, wrapped himself in the fur blanket that Emma had given him, then sat down on the little spot that she had set for them while his clothes dried near the fire; hopefully they’d dry within an hour or two. Emma sat down, snuggling into him as close she could, sharing her warmth while he tilted his head and rested it against Emma’s. She thought about the tiny baby currently growing inside of her; then sighed before beginning to speak: “Do you think we can do this?” she asked as she intently watched the flames in the fireplace.   
“You mean our baby?”  
“Yes…” she answered softly. “Our baby… do you think I’ll be a good mama?”  
“Of course!” he wasted no time in answering her.   
“I’m serious, Baelfire…” she shifted to look at him in the eye again. “I don’t want a biased opinion; I want an honest answer.” she asked him again, sternly this time. “Do you think I will be a good mother? Because I don’t have a maternal bone in my body…” her eyes suddenly began to well and she fought back her tears as best as she could.   
“Em…” he removed his arm from the blanket so he could wrap it around Emma to pull her closer. “You are going to be a wonderful mother, I promise. And as far as the whole ‘having no maternal instinct’ thing? It’ll come, don’t you worry.”  
“But what if it doesn’t?” she gripped his shoulder.  
“It will.” he insisted. “So it might take some time but you have parents that love you and will help you.... Especially your mo- the queen.” he nuzzled her temple with his nose. “And you’ll have me…”  
She smiled weakly and snuggled into his embrace.  
They stared at the fire for a bit before Baelfire broke the silence. “I hope she looks like you…”  
Emma gave him a look. “She?” she asked and Baelfire nodded.  
“Yeah… a girl,” he reached down to place his hand on her belly. “Blonde, strong, and gorgeous like her mama - a little princess.”  
Emma rolled her eyes and uttered a giggle that sounded more like a snort. “Okay but what if I want a little prince? Who’s kind and gentle and has amazing brown hair like his daddy?”  
Baelfire smiled and shook his head. “I’m still going to hope for a girl…”  
Emma looked at him with disbelief. “Wait… you mean you actually want a girl?” she squinted her eyes and he nodded.  
“Yeah!” he answered enthusiastically.  
“But… I thought that men always want boys. My father hoped I was a boy; he even hoped the same for Ava.”   
Baelfire shrugged. “I don’t know,” he paused a second before going on. “Boys kinda… they sort of run in my family and there seems to be something about the father/daughter bond…” he looked down for a moment and Emma was sure she saw him blush a bit. “I… want to have with our child what you have with your father…”  
Okay, that was both sweet and heartbreaking. She looked at him thoughtfully. “You’ll have a bond with our child regardless of its sex…” she affectionately squeezed his arm. “You’ll love him and he’ll love you, I promise.”  
“I-”  
“He will.” Emma interrupted, her tone slightly stern. She looked at him again and then thought for a moment… she knew why he had just said the things he did. “You are going to be amazing…” she reassured him as she snuggled a bit more into him; she suddenly remembered their conversation from the kitchen and looked up at him before she spoke. “About what you said earlier in the kitchen…” she started.   
“I said alot of things in the kitchen…” he replied, the sarcasm in his tone going strong. He knew where she was going with this - again - and he wanted to just forget about it.   
She shook her head at his response before she continued. “Do you think that maybe you should talk to him? As in… make things right?”   
Baelfire avoided her gaze by watching the fire. He really did not want to talk about this right now; in fact, he didn’t even want to think of his father right now.   
“Bae?” Emma’s tone was soft. “Look at me…” she coaxed, and he did look at her, however be it tentatively. “Don’t you think you should? At least give him your side; maybe he’ll become more understanding after you two talk. And you never know, maybe I’m right and he really didn’t mean what he said and wants to apologize...”   
Baelfire wasn’t so sure… and as far as he cared, if he really wanted to ‘apologize’, he could come to him. “I- I dunno....” he looked down and Emma encouraged him to look at her again. He knew she was right but didn’t want to admit it; be it stubbornness, pride, or hurt. Perhaps it was all three. Emma continued to look at him. “Will you do it?” she asked, her green eyes gleaming with that pleading look he could never resist. “For me?” she lovingly placed a hand on his hand and Baelfire continued to contemplate; he really didn’t want to… he’d much rather have told her to leave him alone about this and to let sleeping dogs lie. But he also knew that she didn’t want him hurting in any way and that she wanted him to have the same relationship as she had with her parents; which was rather sweet… in a super naive, cliche child-of-the-Charmings kind of way. The more he thought about it though, the more the thought seemed not so bad. He inhaled a deep breath before finally answering, “I’ll… I’ll see if I have some time to go over and talk to him tomorrow…” he answered slowly. ‘That is, if it’s alright with your - with the king…”  
Emma gave his hand an affectionate squeeze and a kiss on his cheek. “It’ll be okay with him.”   
Baelfire suddenly felt sick with dread and was secretly hoping that Charming would give him too much to do the next day… the last thing he wanted to do was talk to his father; not after how things had gone down just before he was whisked off to the castle a few short weeks ago… he wondered how things were going to play out the next day. And the more he wondered, the more he dreaded it and the sicker he felt over it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY UPDATED!!! I apologize if anything comes off as a little vague... Description is not my strong suit (hopefully reading more will fix that, haha!). Again and as always, thank you giving my story the time of your day! It really means a lot to me and I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I am writing it! Thanks again! And be sure to check out my other works if you haven't already *heart emoji*


End file.
